﻿538 
  Mutations 
  

  

  capable 
  of 
  producing 
  sufficient 
  quantities 
  of 
  or- 
  

   ganic 
  food. 
  The 
  young 
  seedling-plants 
  are 
  soon 
  

   seen 
  to 
  lag 
  behind, 
  and 
  if 
  no 
  care 
  is 
  taken 
  of 
  

   them 
  they 
  are 
  overgrown 
  by 
  their 
  neighbors. 
  

   It 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  take 
  them 
  out, 
  to 
  transplant 
  

   them 
  into 
  pots 
  with 
  richly 
  manured 
  soil, 
  and 
  

   to 
  give 
  them 
  all 
  the 
  care 
  that 
  should 
  be 
  given 
  

   to 
  weak 
  and 
  sickly 
  plants. 
  If 
  this 
  is 
  done 
  fully 
  

   grown 
  rosettes 
  may 
  be 
  produced, 
  which 
  are 
  

   strong 
  enough 
  to 
  keep 
  through 
  the 
  winter. 
  In 
  

   this 
  case 
  the 
  individual 
  leaves 
  become 
  stronger 
  

   and 
  broader, 
  with 
  oblong 
  blades 
  and 
  long 
  

   stalks, 
  but 
  retain 
  their 
  characteristic 
  whitish 
  

   color. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  second 
  year 
  the 
  stems 
  become 
  relative- 
  

   ly 
  stout. 
  Not 
  that 
  they 
  become 
  equal 
  to 
  those 
  

   of 
  lamarckiana, 
  but 
  they 
  become 
  taller 
  than 
  

   might 
  have 
  been 
  expected 
  from 
  the 
  weakness 
  of 
  

   the 
  plants 
  in 
  the 
  previous 
  stages. 
  The 
  flowers 
  

   and 
  racemes 
  are 
  nearly 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   parent-form, 
  the 
  fruits 
  only 
  a 
  little 
  thinner 
  and 
  

   containing 
  a 
  smaller 
  quantity 
  of 
  seed. 
  From 
  

   these 
  seeds 
  I 
  have 
  grown 
  a 
  second 
  and 
  a 
  third 
  

   generation, 
  and 
  observed 
  that 
  the 
  plants 
  remain 
  

   true 
  to 
  their 
  type. 
  

  

  0. 
  oblonga 
  may 
  be 
  grown 
  either 
  as 
  an 
  annual, 
  

   or 
  as 
  a 
  biennial. 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  case 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  

   slender 
  and 
  weak, 
  bearing 
  only 
  small 
  fruits 
  and 
  

   few 
  seeds. 
  In 
  the 
  alternative 
  case 
  however, 
  it 
  

  

  