Bowman: Deterioration in Horticultural Varieties 
EVIDENCE OF DEGENERATION IN SEEDS 
The asters were of three varieties— 
white, pale pink and lavender in stand- 
ard named strains. The florets have 
long and slightly twisted rays or ligules 
of the type popularly called ‘‘Chrysan- 
themum”’ asters. The seed germinated 
in good time with 97 per cent viable 
plants when set out, and the plants 
immediately made good growth. 
The season was very favorable and 
the usual fungicides and insecticides 
applied prevented the attacks of pests, 
so that late in August the asters came 
into bud prolifically. So far these plants 
were identical with those of the same 
strains grown in other seasons. But 
first of all it was noted, when the heads 
began to expand, that, though equal 
plantings had been made of all three 
colors, only a scant proportion of the 
plants were of the pale pink color, 
indicating that, of the seeds so labeled, 
only a few really carried the factor for 
that color. This may have been an 
error originating in the packing of the 
seeds but on account of the presence of 
some of the desired color, and that in 
varying degree, it could be assumed 
that the strain was not carefully segre- 
gated in breeding at the seed farm 
and that the phenomenon was really 
genetic. 
A more striking evidence, however, 
of the deterioration of this stock was 
seen in the form of all three colors. The 
ray florets had much shorter. ligules 
and with a less pronounced curl so that 
the flowers were scarcely recognized as 
being of that distinctive named variety. 
The plants were strong and well nour- 
ished, but these asters had degenerated 
in regard to length of the ligules and the 
amount of ‘‘curl’’ in them and were 
losing the character for ‘‘pinkness.”’ 
VARIATIONS IN ZINNIAS 
The Zinnia etegans strain was of atype 
normally having tall-growing stems 
and full double flowers and character- 
ized especially by long peduncles. The 
latter feature is desirable in this type 
of Zinnia so that it may be used for 
cutting. The more dwarf bedding 
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sorts have shorter internodes and 
shorter peduncles, thus giving a mass 
effect of bloom. Instead of these 
Zinnias coming true to their varietal 
characters, with long internodes. and 
peduncles, there was a pronounced 
shortening in these axes, although the 
plants attained a good size and luxuri- 
ant growth and all signs of any de- 
pauperation were absent, both in the 
synthetic tissues and the inflorescences. 
There was a tendency also for these 
Zinnias to revert in color to the reddish 
magenta of the ancestral type in- 
digenous to Mexico, and in form to 
produce some disk florets in the center 
of the very large heads mainly com- 
posed of ray florets with very broad 
ligules, instead of the full double form 
with densely packed heads of ligules all 
of a uniform size. The Zinnia may 
then be said to deteriorate in the 
shortening of the internodes and pedun- 
cles and reversal to fewer rays and 
purple color. 
THE AFRICAN MARIGOLD 
Tagetes erecta, the African marigold, 
is an especially easy annual to grow. 
With ordinary good culture it will 
produce large full-double heads which 
frequently become too heavy for the 
peduncle and break under their own 
weight. The well grown plants of the 
1919 season set an abundance of buds 
but the lack of uniformity in the stature 
of the plants in the same plot presaged 
differences in inheritance of these 
various individuals. In one plot speci- 
men plants had been set out two feet 
apart, so the ample room for develop- 
ment was assured each plant, but here 
too the same variations in stature 
occurred. That the strain was contami- 
nated with a dwarf type, perhaps even 
mixed with another species, as T. 
patula or T. signata, would account for 
this variation. 
The two varieties selected for plant- 
ing were tall growing sorts of two 
shades, one a clear yellow and the other 
a deeper orange. The fact that as 
many plants of the lighter color reached 
maturity as of the darker color, in 
