﻿Five-leaved 
  Clover 
  357 
  

  

  the 
  conversion 
  of 
  only 
  a 
  single 
  stamen 
  in 
  the 
  

   described 
  manner. 
  I 
  observed 
  this 
  anomaly 
  in 
  

   a 
  poppy 
  called 
  Papaver 
  commutation, 
  and 
  sub- 
  

   jected 
  it 
  during 
  several 
  years 
  to 
  a 
  rigid 
  selec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  richest 
  individuals. 
  No 
  ameliora- 
  

   tion 
  was 
  to 
  be 
  gained 
  and 
  the 
  culture 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  

   given 
  up. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  I 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  bul- 
  

   bous 
  buttercup 
  (Ranunculus 
  bulbosus) 
  a 
  strain 
  

   varying 
  largely 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  petals, 
  

   amounting 
  often 
  to 
  6-8, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  flowers 
  

   even 
  yet 
  to 
  higher 
  figures. 
  During 
  five 
  succeed- 
  

   ing 
  years 
  I 
  cultivated 
  five 
  generations, 
  often 
  in 
  

   large 
  numbers, 
  selecting 
  always 
  those 
  which 
  

   had 
  the 
  highest 
  number 
  of 
  petals, 
  throwing 
  out 
  

   the 
  remainder 
  and 
  saving 
  the 
  seed 
  only 
  from 
  

   the 
  very 
  best 
  plants. 
  I 
  got 
  a 
  strain 
  of 
  selected 
  

   plants 
  with 
  an 
  average 
  number 
  of 
  nine 
  petals 
  

   in 
  every 
  flower, 
  and 
  found 
  among 
  4000 
  flowers 
  

   four 
  having 
  20 
  petals 
  or 
  more, 
  coming 
  up 
  even 
  

   to 
  31 
  in 
  one 
  instance. 
  But 
  such 
  rare 
  instances 
  

   had 
  no 
  influence 
  whatever 
  on 
  the 
  selection, 
  

   since 
  thev 
  were 
  not 
  indicative 
  of 
  individual 
  

  

  t/ 
  

  

  qualities, 
  but 
  occurred 
  quite 
  accidentally 
  on 
  

   flowers 
  of 
  plants 
  having 
  only 
  the 
  average 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  petals. 
  Now 
  double 
  flowers 
  are 
  widely 
  

   known 
  to 
  occur 
  in 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  butter- 
  

   cups, 
  both 
  in 
  the 
  cultivated 
  varieties 
  and 
  in 
  

   some 
  wild 
  forms. 
  For 
  this 
  reason 
  it 
  might 
  be 
  

   expected 
  that 
  through 
  a 
  continuous 
  selection 
  of 
  

  

  