74 



THE BEGINNER'S GARDEN BOOK 



We have already seen, but I will emphasize again, the 

 advantage that we gain from the fact that all crops vary. 

 Breeders or selecters watch for plants that are better than 

 their parents, and from their seed try again, and yet again, 



for still better 

 plants. Out of 

 many worthless 

 seedlings they at 

 last find just 

 what they want. 

 Thus have been 

 made our modern 

 beautiful flowers. 

 The dahlia flower 

 is perhaps the 

 one which has 

 been the most 

 widely changed 

 in shape and 

 color ; but larger 

 and more beauti- 

 ful flowers of all 

 kinds are now at 

 our service, be- 

 cause by careful 

 crossing, or by 

 accidentally 

 found plants, gardeners have managed to improve the plant 

 races. This is true of vegetables, also. I remember that 

 years ago "string" beans actually had strings along the 

 pods, which had to be stripped out before cooking. But now 

 good pods snap clean across, and the new term, "snap 

 beans," has come into use. And when I was a boy tomatoes 



Fig. 42. — Improved dahlia flowers. 



