﻿Five-leaved 
  Clover 
  365 
  

  

  succession 
  of 
  the 
  periods 
  of 
  life, 
  is 
  evidently 
  of 
  

   no 
  consequence, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  the 
  la,w 
  of 
  

   periodicity 
  may 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  a 
  special 
  in- 
  

   stance 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  general 
  law 
  of 
  response 
  to 
  

   external 
  conditions. 
  

  

  The 
  validity 
  of 
  this 
  law 
  of 
  periodicity 
  is 
  of 
  

   course 
  not 
  limited 
  to 
  our 
  ' 
  ' 
  five-leaved 
  ' 
  ' 
  clover. 
  

   Quite 
  on 
  the 
  contrary 
  it 
  is 
  universal 
  in 
  ever- 
  

   sporting 
  varieties. 
  Moreover 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  ascer- 
  

   tained 
  and 
  studied 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  most 
  

   widely 
  different 
  morphologic 
  abnormalities, 
  and 
  

   therefore 
  affords 
  easily 
  accessible 
  material 
  for 
  

   statistical 
  inquiry. 
  I 
  will 
  now 
  give 
  some 
  fur- 
  

   ther 
  instances, 
  but 
  wish 
  to 
  insist 
  first 
  upon 
  the 
  

   necessity 
  of 
  an 
  inquiry 
  on 
  a 
  far 
  larger 
  scale, 
  

   as 
  the 
  evidence 
  as 
  yet 
  is 
  very 
  scanty. 
  

  

  The 
  great 
  celandine 
  (Chelidonium 
  ma 
  jus) 
  

   has 
  a 
  very 
  curious 
  double 
  variety. 
  Its 
  flowers 
  

   are 
  simpler 
  and 
  much 
  more 
  variable 
  than 
  in 
  

   ordinary 
  garden-varieties. 
  The 
  process 
  of 
  

   doubling 
  consists 
  mainly 
  in 
  a 
  change 
  of 
  stamens 
  

   into 
  petals. 
  This 
  change 
  is 
  dependent 
  on 
  the 
  

   season. 
  On 
  each 
  stem 
  the 
  earliest 
  flowers 
  are 
  

   single. 
  These 
  are 
  succeeded 
  by 
  blossoms 
  with 
  

   one 
  or 
  two 
  converted 
  stamens, 
  and 
  towards 
  the 
  

   summer 
  this 
  number 
  increases 
  gradually, 
  attain- 
  

   ing 
  10 
  - 
  11 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  instances 
  even 
  more 
  

   altered 
  filaments. 
  Each 
  year 
  the 
  same 
  succes- 
  

   sion 
  may 
  be 
  seen 
  repeating 
  itself 
  on 
  the 
  stems 
  of 
  

  

  