L84 SELECTION. Chap. XX. 



incessantly urge every one to preserve the finest plants for 

 the production of seed. 



Although plants often present much more conspicuous 

 variations than animals, yet the closest attention is generally 

 requisite to detect each slight and favourable change. Mr. 

 Masters relates 22 how " many a patient hour was devoted," 

 whilst he was young, to the detection of differences in peas 

 intended for seed. Mr. Barnet 23 remarks that the old scarlet 

 American strawberry was cultivated for more than a century 

 without producing a single variety ; and another writer ob- 

 serves how singular it was that when gardeners first began 

 to attend to this fruit it began to vary ; the truth no doubt 

 being that it had always varied, but that, until slight vari- 

 ations were selected and propagated by seed, no conspicuous 

 result was obtained. The finest shades of difference in wheat 

 have been discriminated and selected with almost as much 

 care as, in the case of the higher animals, for instance by 

 Col. Le Couteur and more especially by Major Hallett. 



It may be worth while to give a few examples of method- 

 ical selection with plants ; but in fact the great improvement 

 of all our anciently cultivated plants may be attributed to 

 selection long carried on, in part methodically, and in part 

 unconsciously. I have shown in a former chapter how the 

 weight of the gooseberry has been increased by systematic 

 selection and culture. The flowers of the Heartsease have 

 been similarly increased in size and regularity of outline. 

 AYith the Cineraria, Mr. Glenny 2i '"was bold enough when 

 " the flowers were ragged and starry and ill defined in colour, 

 " to fix a standard which was then considered outrageously 

 " high and impossible, and which, even if reached, it was 

 " said, we should be no gainers by, as it would spoil the 

 " beauty of the flowers. He maintained that he was right; 

 " and the event has proved it to be so." The doubling of 

 flowers has several times been effected by careful selection : 

 the Rev. W. Williamson,- 5 after sowing during several years 



"'Gardener's Chron.,' 1850. p. « « Journal of Horticulture/ 18G2, 



198. p. 369. 



23 'Transact Hort. Soc.,' vol. vi. p. - s 'Transact. Hort. Soc.,' vol, iv, 



152. p. 381. 



