LUTHER BURBANK 



nificant, variation suggested the possibility that 

 farther variation in the same direction might take 

 place if the plants were educated in the right way. 

 So I transferred the plant with crinkled leaves to 

 my home grounds, and in due time gathered its 

 exceedingly diminutive black seeds. 



When the little plants that grew from these 

 seeds next season were carefully examined, I 

 observed that some of them had leaves slightly 

 more crenated or crinkled than the others. So 

 even before the plants made much growth I was 

 able to weed out about half of them, as showing 

 no evidence of progress in the desired direction. 



When the plants were still larger, but before 

 any flowers appeared, about half of the remainder 

 were pulled up ; and later in the season still others 

 were discarded that had shown the crinkled con- 

 dition at an earlier period but did not tend to 

 carry it well as they advanced in age. 



Of the many thousands with which I had 

 started in the spring, only a handful remained 

 toward seed time. And at last a single one among 

 these was chosen as presenting leaves that from 

 the point of view of the experiment were best. 



This single plant was allowed to mature its 

 seed. 



The plants that grew from this seed, represent- 

 ing now the second filial generation from the 



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