﻿474 
  Mutations 
  

  

  the 
  peloric 
  peculiarity, 
  remaining 
  true 
  to 
  the 
  

   wild 
  type 
  as 
  it 
  occurs 
  everywhere 
  in 
  my 
  country, 
  

   and 
  showing 
  in 
  no 
  respect 
  any 
  tendency 
  to 
  the 
  

   production 
  of 
  a 
  new 
  variety. 
  

  

  The 
  mutation 
  took 
  place 
  at 
  once. 
  It 
  was 
  a 
  

   sudden 
  leap 
  from 
  the 
  normal 
  plants 
  with 
  very 
  

   rare 
  peloric 
  flowers 
  to 
  a 
  type 
  exclusively 
  

   peloric. 
  No 
  intermediate 
  steps 
  were 
  observed. 
  

   The 
  parents 
  themselves 
  had 
  borne 
  thousands 
  of 
  

   flowers 
  during 
  two 
  summers, 
  and 
  these 
  were 
  

   inspected 
  nearly 
  every 
  day, 
  in 
  the 
  hope 
  of 
  find- 
  

   ing 
  some 
  pelories 
  and 
  of 
  saving 
  their 
  seed 
  sep- 
  

   arately. 
  Only 
  one 
  such 
  flower 
  was 
  seen. 
  If 
  

   there 
  had 
  been 
  more, 
  say 
  a 
  few 
  in 
  every 
  hun- 
  

   dred 
  flowers, 
  it 
  might 
  be 
  allowable 
  to 
  consider 
  

   them 
  as 
  previous 
  stages, 
  showing 
  a 
  preparation 
  

   of 
  the 
  impending 
  change. 
  But 
  nothing 
  of 
  this 
  

   kind 
  was 
  observed. 
  There 
  was 
  simply 
  no 
  vis- 
  

   ible 
  preparation 
  for 
  the 
  sudden 
  leap. 
  

  

  This 
  leap, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  was 
  full 
  and 
  

   complete. 
  No 
  reminiscence 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  con- 
  

   dition 
  remained. 
  Not 
  a 
  single 
  flower 
  on 
  the 
  

   mutated 
  plant 
  reverted 
  to 
  the 
  previous 
  type. 
  

   All 
  were 
  thoroughly 
  affected 
  by 
  the 
  new 
  attri- 
  

   bute, 
  and 
  showed 
  the 
  abnormally 
  augmented 
  

   number 
  of 
  spurs, 
  the 
  tubular 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  

   corolla 
  and 
  the 
  round 
  and 
  narrow 
  entrance 
  of 
  

   its 
  throat. 
  The 
  whole 
  plant 
  departed 
  absolute- 
  

   ly 
  from 
  the 
  old 
  type 
  of 
  its 
  progenitors. 
  

  

  