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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol.XLII 



exceedingly bad. There seems to be no observation or 

 experiments which can be interpreted as substantiating 

 that phase of his writings. While DeVries' examples all 

 point to the minutest types of variation and change, 

 his philosophy of constancy is directly opposed to this 

 thought and would dash all of the hopes of the average 

 man doing any work looking toward the improvement of 

 strains, or types. Vet, previous to the last few years, 

 since college men have been given sufficient funds for 

 experiment, it was the practical farmer and stockman 

 who had done the work in improvement of agricultural 

 sorts and races in stock, and most of the improvements 

 have been made from pedigreed strains of rather pure 

 type whether we speak of vegetables, fruits, cereals or 

 cattle. I know this statement will meet with objections, 

 but I believe it will be found to stand upon good bases 

 when we remember the work of our horticulturists and 

 best breeders of animals. For example, Wellman, Haynes 

 and Houston used plant gardens for the production of 

 individuals from individual mother plants in wheat be- 

 fore De Vries, Xilson or Hayes worked. I can not con- 

 vince myself, after studying the results and observing 

 the work of Mr. Haynes in later years, that he or the 

 other two men got results only from their first selections. 

 Each of these men have time over and again told me 

 that they selected only the best strains from the progeny 

 of the best individual and that each year their crop had 

 improved in the direction along which they worked and 

 that it maintained itself reasonably well in the field. 

 This, of course, DeVries would answer was only the re- 

 sult of "fluctuating variations." My studies do not con- 

 vince me that he is correct. Undoubtedly, there are 

 countless variations which may occur in the field crop 

 which it is folly to assume may be detected and classi- 

 fied as permanent or fluctuating. Certain it is, that 

 Darwin argued for the great stability of certain inbred 

 stocks and that forces of heredity are stronger than those 

 of variation. It is equally true that the longest pursued 



