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  Retrograde 
  Varieties 
  

  

  as 
  the 
  true 
  character 
  of 
  varieties 
  is 
  a 
  new 
  one. 
  

   Therefore 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  cite 
  a 
  considerable 
  

   amount 
  of 
  evidence 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  prove 
  the 
  asser- 
  

   tion 
  that 
  a 
  hybrid 
  bears 
  the 
  active 
  character 
  

   of 
  its 
  parent-species 
  and 
  not 
  the 
  inactive 
  char- 
  

   acter 
  of 
  the 
  variety 
  chosen 
  for 
  the 
  cross. 
  

  

  We 
  may 
  put 
  this 
  assertion 
  in 
  a 
  briefer 
  form, 
  

   stating 
  that 
  the 
  active 
  character 
  prevails 
  in 
  the 
  

   hybrid 
  over 
  its 
  dormant 
  antagonist. 
  Or 
  as 
  it 
  

   is 
  equally 
  often 
  put, 
  the 
  one 
  dominates 
  and 
  the 
  

   other 
  is 
  recessive. 
  In 
  this 
  terminology 
  the 
  

   character 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  is 
  dominant 
  in 
  the 
  

   hybrid 
  while 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  variety 
  is 
  recessive. 
  

   Hence 
  it 
  follows 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  hybrid 
  the 
  latent 
  or 
  

   dormant 
  unit 
  is 
  recessive, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  follow 
  

   that 
  these 
  three 
  terms 
  have 
  the 
  same 
  meaning, 
  

   as 
  we 
  shall 
  see 
  presently. 
  The 
  term 
  recessive 
  

   only 
  applies 
  to 
  the 
  peculiar 
  state 
  into 
  which 
  the 
  

   latent 
  character 
  has 
  come 
  in 
  the 
  hybrid 
  by 
  its 
  

   pairing 
  with 
  the 
  antagonistic 
  active 
  unit. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  first 
  place 
  it 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  highest 
  import- 
  

   ance 
  to 
  consider 
  crosses 
  between 
  varieties 
  of 
  re- 
  

   corded 
  origin 
  and 
  the 
  species 
  from 
  which 
  they 
  

   have 
  sprung. 
  When 
  dealing 
  with 
  mutations 
  

   of 
  celandine 
  we 
  shall 
  see 
  that 
  the 
  laciniated 
  

   form 
  originated 
  from 
  the 
  common 
  celandine 
  in 
  

   a 
  garden 
  at 
  Heidelberg 
  about 
  the 
  year 
  1590. 
  

   Among 
  my 
  oenotheras 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  eldest 
  of 
  the 
  

   recent 
  productions 
  is 
  the 
  0. 
  brevistylis 
  or 
  short- 
  

  

  