374 Ever-sporting Varieties 



ance of our anomaly, we may now consider it 

 from the double point of view of inheritance 

 and variability. 



The fact of inheritance is shown by the ex- 

 perience of many authors, and by the circum- 

 stance already quoted, that the variety has been 

 propagated from seed for more than half a cen- 

 tury, and may be obtained from various seed- 

 merchants. In respect to the variability, the 

 variety belongs to the ever-sporting group, con- 

 stituting a type which is more closely related to 

 the ''five-leaved " clover than to the striped 

 flowers or even the double stocks. 



It fluctuates around an average type with half 

 filled crowns, going as far as possible in both 

 directions, but never transgressing either limit. 

 It is even doubtful whether the presumable 

 limits are, under ordinary circumstances, ever 

 reached. Obviously one extreme would be the 

 conversion of all the stamens, and the other the 

 absolute deficiency of any marked tendency to 

 such a change. Both may occur, and will prob- 

 ably be met with from time to time. But they 

 must be extremely rare, since in my own exten- 

 sive experiments, which were strictly controlled, 

 I never was able to find a single instance of 

 either of them. Some of the outer stamens 

 have always remained unchanged, yielding 

 enough pollen for the artificial pollination of 



