﻿270 
  Retrograde 
  Varieties 
  

  

  time, 
  and 
  therefore 
  it 
  seems 
  best 
  to 
  give 
  some 
  

   illustrative 
  examples 
  instead. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  Ribes 
  or 
  currant, 
  which 
  

   are 
  cultivated 
  in 
  our 
  gardens, 
  the 
  most 
  beauti- 
  

   ful 
  are 
  without 
  doubt 
  the 
  Californian 
  and 
  the 
  

   Missouri 
  currant, 
  or 
  Ribes 
  sanguineum 
  and 
  R. 
  

   aureum. 
  A 
  third 
  form, 
  often 
  met 
  with, 
  is 
  ' 
  ' 
  Gor- 
  

   don 
  's 
  currant,' 
  which 
  is 
  considered 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  

   hybrid 
  between 
  the 
  two. 
  It 
  has 
  some 
  peculiar- 
  

   ities 
  of 
  both 
  parents. 
  The 
  leaves 
  have 
  the 
  gen- 
  

   eral 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  Californian 
  parent, 
  but 
  are 
  as 
  

   smooth 
  as 
  the 
  Missouri 
  species. 
  The 
  racemes 
  

   or 
  flower-spikes 
  are 
  densely 
  flowered 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  

   red 
  species, 
  but 
  the 
  flowers 
  themselves 
  are 
  of 
  a 
  

   yellow 
  tinge, 
  with 
  only 
  a 
  flesh-red 
  hue 
  on 
  the 
  

   outer 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  calyx. 
  It 
  grows 
  vigorously 
  

   and 
  is 
  easily 
  multiplied 
  by 
  cuttings, 
  but 
  it 
  never 
  

   bears 
  any 
  fruit. 
  Whether 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  constant, 
  

   if 
  fertile, 
  is 
  therefore 
  impossible 
  to 
  decide. 
  

  

  Berberis 
  ilicifolia 
  is 
  considered 
  as 
  a 
  hybrid 
  

   between 
  the 
  European 
  barberry 
  (B. 
  vulgaris] 
  

   and 
  the 
  cultivated 
  shrub 
  Mahonia 
  aquifolia. 
  

   The 
  latter 
  has 
  pinnate 
  leaves, 
  the 
  former 
  undi- 
  

   vided 
  ones. 
  The 
  hybrid 
  has 
  undivided 
  leaves 
  

   which 
  are 
  more 
  spiny 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  Euro- 
  

   pean 
  parent, 
  and 
  which 
  are 
  not 
  deciduous 
  like 
  

   them, 
  but 
  persist 
  during 
  the 
  winter, 
  a 
  peculiar- 
  

   ity 
  inherited 
  from 
  the 
  Mahonia. 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  

  

  