BUD VARIATIONS 8 I 



Statement: "I have no hesitation in affirming that there is 

 no potato in commerce today in England, and I might say 

 in Europe, which owes its origin as a distinct potato to bud 

 variation in any form whatever." After a wide inquiry in 

 the United States, I believe that the statement is also true 

 for this country. Mr. Sutton cites "Forty-fold," "Beauty 

 of Hebron" and "Paulsen's Blue Giant" as having varied 

 from colored skins to white. Mr. P. de Vilmorin (*) has 

 kindly given me two instances. They are both the loss of 

 a colored skin. In this country I have seen three color 

 variations, and have collected five others — apparently 

 authentic — that are losses of color characters. But two 

 exceptions to the rule have appeared. Mr. Sutton reports 

 that "Rector of Woodstock," which was originally white, 

 has produced a purple variegated skin. In this case, however, 

 it is unknown whether the parent tuber possessed the power 

 ot forming the purple dye, as is indicated in some of our 

 white varieties by their purple sprouts. 



There has also appeared a similar variation in the White 

 Pearl, reported to me by Prof. E. R. Bennett. This potato, 

 white in color, with pink sprouts, appear to have produced 

 a purple spotted variety. Old potato growers, however, say 

 that the parent of the White Pearl had a purple skin. 



I have no conclusive evidence as to which colors are 

 dominant in the potato, but from the progeny of about lOO 

 crosses that I have observed, I feel certain that the colorless 

 skin is recessive to colors. Only in one questionable case 

 there appears to have been a pink produced by crossing two 

 white skinned varieties. It is possible that in this case a 

 necessary color factor was introduced by each variety. 



The chrysanthemum is also a plant which produces 

 probably as many bud variations as any one of our cultivated 

 species. On the authority of Mr. Ghys, (**) who has given 

 it a great deal of study, the general tendency is to sport from 



* In personal communication. 



** Le Chrysantlieme, au point de vue du Dimorphisnie: Bull, de la 

 Soc. d' Hort, de I..oir-et-Cher. Troisieme tremestre No. .'55, 1899. 



