.METHOD OF SELECTION. 113 



are, except in the most general way, The plants 

 should be vigorous and give every evidence that 

 they are growing. They should have a compact, 

 symmetrical appearance. The leaves should be 

 glossy, green, large, and on long petioles, and 

 shotild feel, when you run your hand over them, 

 like living, growing things, and not like they were 

 made of leather or cloth. If a hundred or less 

 of such plants are found stake them before 

 flowering commences, and to each stake tie an 

 ordinary shipping tag. Push the stake well into 

 the soil so that it will not interfere with working the 

 beds, and tie the tag on securely so that it will not 

 come off or get lost. Each plant is then given a 

 number, which is never duplicated. We give one 

 hundred plants as the limit for the first year's 

 work, for this is about as many as one can well 

 handle until more experience is gained. There 

 would, therefore, be one hundred numbers from 

 one to one hundred. Every time a tagged plant 

 is reached while picking, count the number of 

 flowers and put down on the tag the date and 

 number of flowers picked. We presume there will 

 be some who upon reading this, will say: "I have 

 not the time to do this and what is the good of it 

 all anyway ? " These are the men who insist that 

 luck governs the question, and while they will 

 always be found they are constantly vexed with 

 ups and downs and sooner or later quit. As a 

 matter of fact, it takes very little time to do what 



