Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 66.djvu/217

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
SOME EXPERIMENTS OF LUTHER BURBANK.
213

"Animals or plants changed by transference from one country to another never quite go back to the old conditions, even if placed in them again, as hereditary tendencies acquired under the new environments, even though latent for many generations may be called forth again under favoring conditions. Exceptions seem to be as important as the rules in this work. Nature leaves so many loopholes that there is almost no rule without exceptions. She does not tie herself up to any unvarying conditions. Adaptability is more important than perseverance."

A blackberry plant with an immense mass of fruit developed from a seedling from the Himalayas. One plant covers 150 square feet, is 8 feet high, and has a bushel or more of fruit. This is only a young, small plant; when full grown this variety is many times larger.

Apples—all Seedlings from One Variety, 'The Early Williams,' showing about the Normal Variation of Apple Seedlings.