in. long, 9 in. wide and 3 in. deep, he covets it for his own and longs to 
join the ranks of plant-breeders. 
In the excellent appendix, every help is offered the would-be 
student, a glossary, a full bibliography and a series of laboratory exer- 
cises systematically arranged. 
Plant-breeding on a large scale — and important results can only 
be obtained in this way — is necessarily the work of a specialist. The 
name of Burbank at once comes to every mind in this connection. In 
his private plant-breeding establishment he has demonstrated the possi- 
bilities undreamed of before. But he is only one of many whose atten- 
tion is being given to this subject. There are now professors, students, 
societies who are making it their chief interest. 
All gardeners should comprehend the fundamental principles elab- 
orated in this book. How much more interesting does the Shirley Poppy 
become when we know it to be an example of "mutation from the single 
field Poppy, and illustrative of De Vries' theory that differences of a 
marked character, forming new elementary species, arise suddenly,, and 
not always by the slow process of natural selection. 
Selection always plays an important part, however, and among 
cultivated plants many mutations are the result of a continued selection 
for a number of years, this selection assisting in the breaking of the type 
and thus allowing the mutation to occur. 
Likewise in hybridization, mere crossing is not enough. Selection 
of parents must be followed by selection of crosses, and the act of 
selection is often more important in the result than the cross. Orchids, 
the most carefully selected and the most carefully cultivated of all 
plants, are examples of the most successful hybrids. 
The results of hybridization were for a long time considered largely 
a matter of chance until Mendel's law of heredity was established, domi- 
nant and recessive characters recognized and uniformity and constancy 
along certain lines proved. 
But these are all theories that to be expounded adequately must be 
expounded in detail. 
Incidentally, in the process of elaboration, the zealous gardener 
will discover many practical hints for his own garden. For instance, we 
are told that when selecting seeds it is important that the whole plant 
should be considered rather than any one part, as the more uniform a 
plant is the more likely it is to transmit its characters. Therefore, if one 
wishes larger flowers, choose seed from a plant bearing good-sized 
flowers uniformly, rather than from a plant with some exceptional bloom 
and some that are insignificant. 
"Plant-Breeding" is full of such interesting detail. 
Again we urge upon the attention of the gardener this valuable 
book. 
As amateurs, are we not too prone to revel in the superficial beauty 
of form and color and to ignore the profounder beauty of the mystery 
oi life? Reviewed by MRS. ARTHUR SCRIBNER. 
