vi History 



into the French by J. M. and E. Harraca, and published in 

 Paris in 1901 as " La Production des Plantes." 



Having been thrice reprinted, the second edition was 

 issued in 1902, although, through an inadvertence, it was 

 not so marked on the title-page. Few text-changes were 

 made, but the bibliography was included. 



Early in 1904 the third edition was issued. The bibli- 

 ography was extended, and some changes were made in the 

 text; but the principal departure was a new Chapter IV, 

 from which the old "Borrowed opinions" were omitted, 

 and " Recent opinions " were substituted, comprising a dis- 

 cussion of the work of de Vries, Mendel, and others, and 

 a statement of the current tendencies of American plant- 

 breeding practice. " In the eight years since this book was 

 sent to the printer," it was stated in the preface to the third 

 edition, "there have been great changes in our attitude 

 toward most of the fundamental questions that are dis- 

 cussed in its pages. In fact, these years may be said to 

 have marked a transition between two habits of thought in 

 respect to the means of the evolution of plants, from the 

 points of view held by Darwin and the older writers to 

 those arising from definite experimental studies in species 

 and varieties. We have not given up the old nor wholly 

 accepted the new, but it is certain that our outlook is shift- 

 ing. So far as practical plant-breeding is involved, the 

 changing attitude is concerned chiefly with discussions of 

 tjie nature of varieties and the nature of hybridization." 

 It was declared that " the time cannot be far distant when 

 the subject of plant-breeding will be rewritten from a new 

 point of view." 



In 1906, the fourth edition appeared, with a new chapter 

 on " Current plant-breeding practice " ; and the book had 



