216 



c 



-(T--. 



brauch was Struck, provcd triie to ils new naiiire, and 

 became Uie anceslors of a race of biilTs. The coloiir 

 of a red Caniellia „breaUs;" red streaks appear in the 

 (lowers »r a sporliriff brauch; Ihal brauch is separateil 

 Iroiii its Iranqull inolher, and clapped lipon a stont 

 stock; Oll goes the sportive branch, relaiiis ils tendency, 

 prodnces slriped flowers all llie belkr Tor the new 

 blond iiifnsed inlo thein, and the tendency is fixed; 

 skilfnl (jardeners ciit it limli froni liinb, and evcry mn- 

 tilated niorscl Starts into lue anolher variegation. It 

 is the Same witli vegetaliles; a wild Carrot acciden- 

 tally fonnd in ciiltivated gioiind, refiiscs to run to seed, 

 but employs itsell' in biiildiiig up a root stouler tlian any 

 Carrot bad been before. The watchlul eyes of a gardener 

 reniark Ihe change; the changeiing, still a sport, flow- 

 ers at last; its precions seeds are saved, and coin- 

 niitted to still richer ground. Nine-lenths of the seed- 

 lings rnn back to llie wild forin — yonr Carrot is but 

 an inlractahle genlleinan alter all; liul a very few prove 

 übedieiit to the will of man, sliake oll' yonr savage ha- 

 bits, rel'nse lo llower tili the second year, meantime 

 spend their autnniu and winter in the fiirtlicr enlarg- 

 ment of Iheir roots, Ihen rise iip iiilo blossuiii iinigo- 

 raled by six months' additinal preparation, and yield 

 more seeds, in wliich the lixily of character, or, if you 

 will, the liabit of domesticalion, is still more firnily ini- 

 planted. And thus begins the race of Carrots. 



Neclarines. Pears, Peaches, Plunis, and other va- 

 Inable fruits, niust be supposed to have In numerous 

 iustances derived their origin from siniilar circnnistan- 

 ces; ihey were far more the children of accidenl iban 

 design, and we see to what they have come. Garde- 

 ners, tlicn, sbonid keep a walchfnl eye lipon every ten- 

 dency to sport, wliich tl.ey may rcniark among the 

 plants entrusted to their care. The sports, however 

 unproinising, should be niade the subjecls of repeated 

 experinient; year after year seed sbould he saved, seed 

 beds, „rogued," and attenips made to secure fixity of 

 character. If they end in liotbiiig, as they often will, 

 such experimenls have the advanlage ol also costiiig 

 nolhing; biit if they lead to a good result a permanent 

 gain is securcd. We see no reason w liy (jourds sboiild 

 not be bred inlo i\Ielons; at least we know to our cost 

 thal Melons are easily bred into Gourds. There is 

 nothing impossible in the Jliller's Burgundy Grape Irans- 

 forming into a sort with berries as big as Muscats; or 

 in a Leek gaining a hnlb as solid and round as a Tri- 

 poli Ollion; or in a Uaspherry bearing benies as fine 

 as a British Queen Strawberry: such changes are far 

 more likely to happeii thaii the transformalion of .\egi- 

 lops inlo Triticum; what they want for their accoiii- 

 plishment is time, patience, and an intelligent know- 

 ledge of the naiure of plants, and a (ixed residence; 

 willi all which gardeners as a body are betler provi- 

 ded than any other class of Society. To them we ear- 

 neslly reconiniend llie steadily pursuit of M. Fahre expe- 

 rimenls. If any one shonid siicced in the coiirse of a 

 dozen years in giving a Raspherry the dimensions of 

 a Mammuth Strawberry, he will deserve to be placed 

 by Ihe side of the great invenlor of the Crystal Palace. 



III. 



(Gardeners' Chroniclr, 7. .\ujust 180*.) 

 Leiter lo the Editor of Ihe Gardeaers' Cbronicle. 



Vonr annonncement of .11. Esprit Fahre s discovery 

 is ccrtainly startling, and if confirmed, will indeed go 

 a long way to gi^e the coup de grace (as you remark) 

 tu cur failh in the value e\ea of generic dislinctions. 

 Indeed, if we are to receive the resulls of M. Fahre's 

 experimenls as undouhled facls, in arriving at which 

 there could have been no latent sonrces of error, all 

 our a priori incredniity is to tlie ]ii'ohaliility of the 

 old slories of Oats having heconie Hye etc., is at once 

 renioved, and our considered seltied nolions respecting 

 the permanence of specific dislinctions wofully sha- 

 ken. Truly Ihis discovery will afford a trinmph lo the 

 lalenteil anthor of the nVesliges of the Natural Hislory 

 of Crealion." The case is in fact so novel, and par- 

 takes so of tlie marvellous, ihal every thins belonging 

 lo it nuist interest all true lovers of science, and all 

 scientific lovers of truth. It is thcrefore most desirable 

 that the new Wheal plant of JI. Fahre should be care- 

 fully compared wilh Ihe old form, in Order lo setlle 

 their ideiitity (if they be identical) or olherwise to 

 sliow in what particulars they dilfer froin eacb other, 

 and this exaniinalion should exleud to every pari of 

 Ihe plant, and the luicroscope should be calied in to 

 assisl in the investigalion. Seeds of the new Wheat 

 should be seilt to this country and sown on the best 

 and «orst Wheat soils, Ihe l'ormer lo ascerlain if it 

 admits of furlher developmenl, the laller lo induce it 

 to revert back lo its normal condilions of .^e. ovala. 

 It would also be_ most interesling lo yuur bolanical 

 readcrs, if you couUI show tliem side by side, in a 

 cut, drawings of the original .\e. ovata, llie .Ve. ovata 

 var. triticoides, the fnlly developed Wheat plant of M. 

 Fahre and the old denizen, togetber with maguified 

 Sketches of the Doral Organs. We should ihen be able 

 lo see and .judge for ourselves of the extenl of the 

 mulation which appears tu have lakeii place between 

 Ihe alpha of the „Sicillian" weed and the omega of 

 our noblest ccreal. It would be furlher interesling to 

 State wbat was considered to be the esscnlial generic 

 character of Aegilops and Trilicum respectively, thal 

 we may see by what changes the one has glided into 

 ihe other. Perhaps the strängest part of M. Fabre"s 

 experience is, that in no instance had he observed a 

 rciroffression from the nascent Wheat back lo ils vile 

 anceslral lype. It would, nioreo\er, he important to 

 ascerlain how hardy ihe new plaiil is, wlieter it would 

 bear, for inslance, the climate of the iVorlh and East 

 of England ; also bow hardy Ae. ovala is. Yonr readers 

 would be glad also to know wliere Professors üunal's 

 paniphlet and also where specimens of Ae. ovata (its 

 normal and abnormal phases] could be procured. The 

 snbject is one of snrpassing inicrest. W. Marshall; 

 Ely. [M. F'abre's paniphlet contains figures of all ihe 

 object which our correspondenl wishes lo see, but we 

 cannol iuciir ihe expense of reproducing ihem. About 

 llie facts ihcre is no doubt. We have purposely avoided 

 treating Ihe question in a merely bolanical point of 

 view; we may, however, observe that doubts about ihe 

 soundness of the generic dislinctions of Trilicum and 



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