1. Standards are maintained and uniformity achieved by 
single-plant and line selections. The seed from a single 
plant will produce a ‘“‘line’’ of plants the following year 
showing a certain amount of variation. Individual plants 
from this line will produce lines with less variation. After 
many generations the latest selection will be quite “‘true,”’ 
because, of all the progeny of that original plant, from gen- 
eration to generation, only the best has been saved. The : L 
plants staked in this picture are going through the selection : 
process, each chosen the best from an excellent line, whose 
pedigree is known. 
2. Some flower species reliably self-pollinate them- 
selves, others will cross-pollinate by means of bees, 
insects or wind if given the opportunity. Because the 
selections in this picture might “cross” with less de- 
sirable specimens, they are caged with cheesecloth. 
6. Once a strain is true, careful maintenance will 
keep it that way. Occasionally, however, a plant is. 
found which is a distinct improvement. Seed from 
this plant is carefully saved, to go through the selec- 
5. An aerial view of the Bodger Workshop for Wilt- 
Resistant Asters, showing line selections in the cen- 
; ter, stock-seed increase blocks to the left; field pro- 
# duction on either side. This land is highly infested 
| with wilt, so that disease-resistant plants are aute- 
b matically ‘‘selected’”’ by the process of survival, then 
tion process and become a replacement for the regu- 
lar stock. This occurs in many varieties each year, 
although we usually do not add ‘‘improved"’ te the 
selected again for proper type and color by the plant name in our catalog unless the improvement is major. 
Thus Bodger strains are often superior to the same- 
named items purchased elsewhere and an improve- 
ment of the stock originally introduced. 
breeder, You will notice that certain lines have died 
off completely — only the survivors will produce 
Bodger Wilt-Resistant Aster seed. 
d 
8. The seed from the cross produces uniform plants 
with ‘“thybrid vigor’’ but the next generation will 
‘segregate’ into all the variations inherent in the 
two parents. The best specimens in this second gen- 
eration are saved, and regular line selection work 
begins. In ten years the result may be a true new 
variety quite different from either of the parents, or 
a standard type with desirable new characteristics, 
such as greater vigor and better size. 
CONTINUAL RESEARCH is of prime importance to the kind 
of performance the seed industry has learned to expect from 
Bodger Seeds. We maintain a technical staff second to none 
whose achievements in novelties have been notable, but their 
