ON FLOWER POSSIBILITIES 



and systematic selection, to develop and accentu- 

 ate a plant characteristic. 



No one who casually observed the old parent 

 form of the plant and the new modified form 

 growing side by side would be likely to suspect 

 that the two belong to the same species. Yet an 

 examination of the flowers would show that these 

 are identical, for in making the successive selec- 

 tions I paid attention to the leaf exclusively, and 

 did not seek in any way to modify other portions 

 of the plant's structure. 



To the person who has not had experience in 

 plant development, probably the most remarkable 

 feature of the entire matter is the comparatively 

 short time required, and the few generations 

 involved, in producing what is a remarkable 

 transformation — the most conspicuous transfor- 

 mation in a leaf that has ever been produced. The 

 nearest approach to this structure is seen in the 

 leaf of the Rex Begonia called Erdody. It may 

 seem further remarkable that a transformation of 

 such significance could be effected in a few gen- 

 erations by selective breeding; without the aid of 

 special experiments in hybridizing. 



But this case is presented here at the beginning 

 of our special studies of flower development, 

 largely to emphasize the possibility of modifying 

 even so fixed a structure as the leaf of a plant 



[13] 



