189 



mun, many of the known lilies of the world have contributed 

 their peculiarities to the enrichment of the native form. Secondly, 

 Burbank makes a study of the characteristics and qualities of his 

 plants in all stages of their development, and this knowledge 

 enables him to introduce promising traits and secure more desir- 

 able and direct results than other breeders. 



It is popularly believed that these improved forms are new 

 creations. Hybridizing only introduces a new combination of 

 characters. No new ones are added. Every novelty has its basis 

 in some previously existing form. Thus, his stoneless prune was 

 derived from a worthless French* variety, prune sans noymi, by 

 adding this trait to a cultivated form. 



Mention only can be made of other important features of the 

 book. An excellent resume of the mutation theory is presented 

 in the introduction and a very important chapter to American 

 farmers appears in the discussion of the methods that should be 

 followed in corn breeding. With a crop yielding last year 2700 

 million bushels, valued at over a billion dollars, it will come with 

 something of surprise to learn that little in the way of systematic 

 breeding was attempted until ten years ago ; and we infer that 

 the best work remains to be undertaken. 



The closing chapter on the geographical distribution of plants 

 contains several discussions that will be taken with reservations 

 by many. As especially timely may be mentioned his character- 

 ization of many of the speculations upon adaptations as merely 

 " poetical descriptions of the way in which we should like to un- 

 derstand and admire nature, but not facts capable of direct proof " 

 In this connection we cannot refrain from mentioning with some 

 amusement (and we are sure Professor deVries will join us) that 

 even the most careful may fall into errors of this nature, as when 

 the author refers to plants maintaining a position of safety on the 

 mountain tops through " dread of their enemies in the valley," 

 (p. 340) and to plants "seeking conditions" (p. 335). 



The work of Nilsson and his colaborers has heretofore been 

 almost entirely concealed from the public owing to the fact that 

 the aim of the company has been neither educational nor directed 

 primarily to scientific researches. Its sole object has been the 



