﻿164 
  Retrograde 
  Varieties 
  

  

  known 
  as 
  " 
  peloria,' 
  or 
  regular 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  

   normally 
  symmetric 
  type 
  ; 
  they 
  are 
  large 
  and 
  ir- 
  

   regular 
  on 
  the 
  stems 
  and 
  the 
  vigorous 
  branches 
  

   but 
  slender 
  and 
  quinate 
  on 
  the 
  weaker 
  twigs. 
  

   Their 
  beauty 
  and 
  highly 
  interesting 
  anomalous 
  

   character 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  their 
  being 
  de- 
  

   scribed 
  many 
  times, 
  and 
  nearly 
  always 
  as 
  a 
  

   novelty; 
  they 
  have 
  been 
  recently 
  re-introduced 
  

   into 
  horticulture 
  as 
  such, 
  though 
  they 
  were 
  al- 
  

   ready 
  cultivated 
  before 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  

   century. 
  About 
  that 
  time 
  very 
  good 
  descrip- 
  

   tions 
  with 
  plates 
  were 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  journal 
  

   " 
  Flora 
  ' 
  by 
  Vrolik, 
  but 
  afterwards 
  they 
  seem 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  forgotten. 
  The 
  peloric 
  variety 
  

   of 
  the 
  foxglove 
  always 
  comes 
  true 
  from 
  seed, 
  

   though 
  in 
  the 
  strict 
  sense 
  of 
  the 
  word 
  which 
  

   we 
  have 
  chosen 
  for 
  our 
  discussion, 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  

   seem 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  constant 
  and 
  pure 
  variety. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  very 
  interesting 
  to 
  compare 
  old 
  botani- 
  

   cal 
  books, 
  or 
  even 
  old 
  drawings 
  and 
  engravings 
  

   containing 
  figures 
  of 
  anomalous 
  plants. 
  The 
  

   celebrated 
  Pinacothec 
  of 
  Munich 
  contains 
  an 
  

   old 
  picture 
  by 
  Holbein 
  (1495-1543) 
  representing 
  

   St. 
  Sebastian 
  in 
  a 
  flower-garden. 
  Of 
  the 
  plants 
  

   many 
  are 
  clearly 
  recognizable, 
  and 
  among 
  

   others 
  there 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  l 
  ' 
  one-leaved 
  : 
  ' 
  variety 
  

   of 
  the 
  strawberry, 
  which 
  may 
  still 
  be 
  met 
  

   with 
  in 
  botanical 
  gardens. 
  In 
  the 
  year 
  

   1671 
  a 
  Dutch 
  botanist, 
  Abraham 
  Hunting 
  pub- 
  

  

  