LUTHER BURBANK 



came under my observation, and they never, so 

 far as I know, have been duplicated before or 

 since. 



But the fact that the lima bean, the conspicuous 

 traits of which were submerged and subordinated 

 in the mature hybrid, should have made its influ- 

 ence strongly felt in the seedling at the beginning 

 of its growth is peculiarly interesting. 



One recalls the similar case of the raspberry 

 plant hybridized with pollen from the strawberry. 

 In that case, the young hybrids at first bore close 

 resemblance to the strawberry plant, yet subse- 

 quently shot up into the air and took on the aspects 

 of the raspberry vine. In both cases, then, the 

 influence of the seed plant was at first submerged 

 but ultimately preponderant. 



We cannot be sure, however, that this was more 

 than a coincidence. To determine that point it 

 would be necessary to make a reciprocal cross. 



It has been pointed out that as a rule it appears 

 to make no difference in the ultimate character 

 of the hybrid as to which of its parents is the 

 staminate and which the pistillate one. Yet the 

 cases of animal heredity in which there is a 

 marked tendency to cross-inheritance — from 

 father to daughter and from mother to son — sug- 

 gests that there may be analogous cases in plant 

 life. In any event, the analogy between the hybrid 



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