ON THE TOMATO 



But, on the other hand, a long list might be 

 cited of inventions and discoveries of vast impor- 

 tance that were matters of accident. Perkins' dis- 

 covery of the aniline dye; Nobel's discovery of 

 nitro-glycerine; Rontgen's discovery of the X-ray; 

 Becquerel's discovery of radio activity — these are 

 instances where a man found something for which 

 he was not specifically looking. Of course he had 

 to be in line of discovery. It was essential that he 

 should be handling the right materials, and work- 

 ing in a laboratory having the right accessories, or 

 the discovery could not have been made. Never- 

 theless, in each case, the discoverer found some- 

 thing for which he was not seeking; his experi- 

 ment had results that he could not have prede- 

 termined. 



And here again, the analogy with that other 

 type of experimentation through which, for exam- 

 ple, the preserving tomato was developed will be 

 obvious. 



Looking for Surprises 



The point to be emphasized is that the plant 

 developer is an inventor who works sometimes 

 according to one method and sometimes according 

 to another. He is dealing always with complex 

 and intricate matters. Sometimes he has studied 

 them so well that he knows what to expect of them 

 in certain combinations. In other cases he is feel- 



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