﻿Five-leaved 
  Clover 
  359 
  

  

  sidered 
  as 
  an 
  exception, 
  but 
  as 
  a 
  widely 
  occur- 
  

   ring 
  type 
  of 
  phenomenon, 
  occurring 
  perhaps 
  in 
  

   all 
  sorts 
  of 
  teratologic 
  deviations, 
  and 
  in 
  wide 
  

   ranges 
  of 
  species 
  and 
  genera. 
  Hence 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

   considered 
  worth 
  while 
  to 
  give 
  some 
  more 
  de- 
  

   tails 
  of 
  this 
  extended 
  experiment. 
  

  

  Ten 
  years 
  ago 
  (1894-5) 
  I 
  bought 
  and 
  sowed 
  

   about 
  a 
  pound 
  of 
  seed 
  of 
  the 
  crimson 
  .clover. 
  

   Among 
  many 
  thousands 
  of 
  normal 
  seedlings 
  I 
  

   found 
  two 
  with 
  three 
  and 
  one 
  with 
  four 
  cotyle- 
  

   dons. 
  Trusting 
  to 
  the 
  empirical 
  rules 
  of 
  corre- 
  

   lation, 
  I 
  transplanted 
  these 
  three 
  individuals 
  in 
  

   order 
  to 
  isolate 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  flowering 
  period. 
  

   One 
  of 
  them 
  produced 
  during 
  the 
  ensuing 
  sum- 
  

   mer 
  one 
  four-bladed 
  and 
  one 
  five-bladed 
  leaf. 
  

   The 
  seeds 
  were 
  saved 
  separately 
  and 
  sown 
  the 
  

   following 
  spring 
  and 
  the 
  expected 
  result 
  could 
  

   soon 
  be 
  seen. 
  Among 
  some 
  250 
  individual 
  

   plants 
  I 
  counted 
  22 
  with 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  deviations, 
  

   and 
  10 
  with 
  from 
  three 
  to 
  nine 
  four- 
  or 
  five- 
  

   bladed 
  leaves. 
  Proportions 
  nearly 
  similar 
  have 
  

   been 
  observed 
  repeatedly. 
  Better 
  nourished 
  in- 
  

   dividuals 
  have 
  produced 
  more 
  deviating 
  leaves 
  

   on 
  one 
  plant, 
  partly 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  larger 
  number 
  

   of 
  stems 
  and 
  branches, 
  and 
  poor 
  or 
  average 
  

   specimens 
  have 
  mostly 
  been 
  without 
  any 
  aber- 
  

   ration 
  or 
  with 
  only 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  abnormal 
  leaves. 
  

   No 
  further 
  improvement 
  could 
  be 
  attained. 
  

   Quadrifoliolate 
  leaves 
  were 
  always 
  rare, 
  never 
  

  

  