﻿426 
  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  ever, 
  is 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  the 
  case. 
  It 
  is 
  easy 
  to 
  re- 
  

   turn 
  from 
  so 
  highly 
  selected 
  figures 
  as 
  for 
  in- 
  

   stance 
  95$ 
  to 
  the 
  average 
  about 
  of 
  50$, 
  as 
  

   regression 
  to 
  mediocrity 
  is 
  always 
  an 
  easy 
  mat- 
  

   ter. 
  But 
  to 
  transgress 
  this 
  average 
  on 
  the 
  

   lower 
  side 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  as 
  difficult 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  

   upper 
  side. 
  I 
  continued 
  the 
  experiment 
  during 
  

   four 
  succeeding 
  generations, 
  but 
  was 
  not 
  able 
  to 
  

   go 
  lower 
  than 
  about 
  10$, 
  and 
  could 
  not 
  even 
  ex- 
  

   clude 
  the 
  high 
  figures 
  from 
  my 
  strain. 
  Parents 
  

   with 
  65 
  - 
  75$ 
  of 
  syncotylous 
  seedlings 
  returned 
  

   in 
  each 
  generation, 
  notwithstanding 
  the 
  most 
  

   careful 
  contra-selection. 
  The 
  attribute 
  is 
  in- 
  

   herent 
  in 
  the 
  race, 
  and 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  eliminated 
  by 
  

   so 
  simple 
  a 
  means 
  as 
  selection, 
  nor 
  even 
  by 
  a 
  se- 
  

   lection 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  of 
  hereditary 
  percentages. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  dealt 
  with 
  torsions 
  and 
  fasciations 
  

   and 
  with 
  seedling 
  variations 
  at 
  some 
  length, 
  in 
  

   order 
  to 
  point 
  out 
  the 
  phases 
  needing 
  investiga- 
  

   tion 
  according 
  to 
  recent 
  views. 
  It 
  would 
  be 
  

   quite 
  superfluous 
  to 
  consider 
  other 
  anomalies 
  in 
  

   a 
  similar 
  manner, 
  as 
  they 
  all 
  obey 
  the 
  same 
  laws. 
  

   A 
  hasty 
  survey 
  may 
  suffice 
  to 
  show 
  what 
  pros- 
  

   pects 
  they 
  offer 
  to 
  the 
  student 
  of 
  nature. 
  

  

  First 
  of 
  all 
  come 
  the 
  variegated 
  leaves. 
  They 
  

   are 
  perhaps 
  the 
  most 
  variable 
  of 
  all 
  variations. 
  

   They 
  are 
  evidently 
  dependent 
  on 
  external 
  cir- 
  

   cumstances, 
  and 
  by 
  adequate 
  nutrition 
  the 
  

   leaves 
  may 
  even 
  become 
  absolutely 
  white 
  or 
  

  

  