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  Retrograde 
  Varieties 
  

  

  the 
  distinguishing 
  quality 
  in 
  some 
  varieties. 
  It 
  

   is 
  of 
  general 
  occurrence, 
  though 
  often 
  over- 
  

   looked. 
  Many 
  white 
  varieties 
  of 
  colored 
  flow- 
  

   ers 
  give 
  striking 
  instances, 
  among 
  them 
  many 
  

   of 
  the 
  most 
  stable 
  and 
  most 
  prized 
  garden-flow- 
  

   ers. 
  If 
  you 
  look 
  at 
  them 
  separately 
  or 
  in 
  lit- 
  

   tle 
  bouquets 
  they 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  irreproachable 
  

   purity. 
  But 
  if 
  you 
  examine 
  large 
  beds 
  a 
  pale 
  

   hue 
  will 
  become 
  visible. 
  In 
  many 
  cases 
  this 
  

   tinge 
  is 
  so 
  slight 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  only 
  noticeable 
  in 
  a 
  

   certain 
  illumination, 
  or 
  by 
  looking 
  in 
  an 
  oblique 
  

   direction 
  across 
  the 
  bed 
  ; 
  in 
  others 
  it 
  is 
  at 
  once 
  

   evident 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  pointed 
  out. 
  It 
  

   always 
  reminds 
  the 
  observer 
  of 
  the 
  color 
  of 
  

   the 
  species 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  variety 
  belongs, 
  being 
  

   bluish 
  in 
  violets 
  and 
  harebells, 
  reddish 
  in 
  

   godetias 
  and 
  phloxes, 
  in 
  Silene 
  Armeria 
  and 
  

   many 
  others. 
  It 
  proves 
  that 
  the 
  original 
  color- 
  

   quality 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  has 
  not 
  wholly, 
  but 
  only 
  

   partly 
  disappeared. 
  It 
  is 
  dormant, 
  but 
  not 
  en- 
  

   tirely 
  obliterated; 
  latent, 
  but 
  not 
  totally 
  con- 
  

   cealed; 
  inactive, 
  but 
  only 
  partially 
  so. 
  Our 
  

   terminology 
  is 
  an 
  awkward 
  one; 
  it 
  practically 
  

   assumes, 
  as 
  it 
  so 
  often 
  does 
  in 
  other 
  cases, 
  a 
  

   conventional 
  understanding, 
  not 
  exactly 
  cor- 
  

   responding 
  to 
  the 
  simple 
  meaning 
  of 
  the 
  words. 
  

   But 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  cumbrous 
  to 
  speak 
  always 
  of 
  

   partial 
  inactivity, 
  incomplete 
  latency 
  or 
  half 
  

   awakening 
  qualities. 
  Even 
  such 
  words 
  as 
  sub- 
  

  

  