RECORDING THE EXPERIMENTS 



Such a record as this is essential to actual 

 progress. It is important, if for no other reason, 

 to prevent the experimenter from deceiving him- 

 self. It is very easy to imagine that a certain 

 product that has caused one much trouble is better 

 than some other; or that a fruit of a given tree is 

 larger than some rival variety. But the record 

 book enables one to put the matter to a precise 

 and definite test; it makes self-deception impos- 

 sible; and it affords an invaluable guide to further 

 experimentation. 



There are thousands of graphic records such 

 as these on the shelves of my library. 



I would not think of attempting to conduct 

 an intricate series of experiments looking to the 

 development of a new fruit without the aid of 

 these plan books. 



When the experiment is finally completed, a 

 series of these loose leaves, properly collated, 

 furnishes a complete record of the various hybrid- 

 izings and selections — resulting sometimes in 

 better and sometimes in worse fruits — through 

 which success has finally been achieved. These 

 records are in themselves sufficient answer to any 

 one who imagines that the plant experimenter 

 works haphazard, merely because he does not 

 always adopt a biometric method. 



After all, from the standpoint of the consumer 



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