ON THE AMARYLLIS 



have been attained only when men and women of 

 widely divergent races — ^Turks, Persians, Hindoos, 

 Negroes, Patagonians, South Sea Islanders — were 

 brought into the coalition and mingled with the 

 European races. 



And in making this illustration I am only seek- 

 ing another way of emphasizing the truth which 

 we have oeen illustrated in many fields, that the 

 widest possible range of variation, and therefore 

 the greatest possible opportunity for development 

 along any given line, can be stimulated only by 

 the hybridization of species or varieties that are 

 divergent almost to the limits of affinity — using 

 the word affinity in the sense defined in our ear- 

 lier studies of cross-fertilization. 



It was thus that my gigantic walnut trees were 

 produced, as the reader will recall. 



It was thus that the fruit of the little beach- 

 plum was magnified from the size of a berry to 

 that of a nectarine. 



It was thus that the giant among small fruits, 

 the Phenomenal berry, was brought into being. 



And such also was the origin of the giant spine- 

 less cactus plants, and of numerous other plant 

 developments in their way quite as remarkable, 

 even if not always so spectacular. 



Flowers Versus Men 



With the breeding of a giant race of men, we 



[77] 



