﻿346 
  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  \ 
  

  

  showed 
  some 
  increase 
  of 
  the 
  anomaly, 
  but 
  not 
  to 
  

   a 
  very 
  remarkable 
  degree. 
  In 
  the 
  flowering 
  pe- 
  

   riod 
  I 
  selected 
  four 
  plants 
  with 
  the 
  largest 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  quaternate 
  and 
  quinate 
  leaves 
  and 
  de- 
  

   stroyed 
  all 
  the 
  others. 
  I 
  counted 
  in 
  the 
  average 
  

   25 
  anomalous 
  organs 
  on 
  each 
  of 
  them. 
  From 
  

   their 
  seed 
  I 
  raised 
  the 
  third 
  generation 
  of 
  my 
  

   culture 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  1891. 
  

  

  This 
  generation 
  included 
  some 
  300 
  plants, 
  on 
  

   which 
  above 
  8000 
  leaves 
  were 
  counted. 
  More 
  

   than 
  1000 
  were 
  quaternate 
  or 
  quinate, 
  the 
  ter- 
  

   nate 
  leaves 
  being 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  majority. 
  But 
  the 
  

   experiment 
  clearly 
  showed 
  that 
  ' 
  ' 
  four-leaved 
  ; 
  

   clovers 
  may 
  be 
  produced 
  in 
  any 
  desired 
  quan- 
  

   tity, 
  provided 
  that 
  the 
  seed 
  of 
  the 
  variety 
  is 
  

   available. 
  In 
  the 
  summer 
  only 
  three, 
  four 
  and 
  

   five 
  leaflets 
  on 
  one 
  stalk 
  were 
  seen, 
  but 
  towards 
  

   the 
  fall, 
  and 
  after 
  the 
  selection 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  in- 
  

   dividuals, 
  this 
  number 
  increased 
  and 
  came 
  up 
  

   to 
  six 
  and 
  seven 
  in 
  some 
  rare 
  instances. 
  

  

  The 
  selection 
  in 
  this 
  year 
  was 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  

   easy. 
  Nearly 
  all 
  the 
  individuals 
  produced 
  at 
  

   least 
  some 
  quaternate 
  leaves, 
  and 
  thereby 
  

   showed 
  the 
  variety 
  to 
  be 
  quite 
  pure. 
  I 
  counted 
  

   the 
  abnormal 
  organs 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  group 
  of 
  the 
  

   best 
  plants, 
  and 
  selected 
  20 
  excellent 
  speci- 
  

   mens 
  from 
  them, 
  with 
  more 
  than 
  one-third 
  of 
  

   all 
  their 
  leaves 
  changed 
  in 
  the 
  desired 
  manner. 
  

  

  Having 
  brought 
  my 
  race 
  up 
  to 
  this 
  point, 
  I 
  

  

  