Tlic Origin of Striped I'lozccrs. 



119 



number of generations that the striping appears. It af- 

 fects ahnost necessarily, so it seems, every cultivated 

 white or yellow variety. Some are worth putting on the 

 market ; others are not. Amongst the latter Vilmorin 

 (1852) has mentioned as an example Clarkia piilcliclla, 

 from bought seeds of the white variety of which the 

 striped form has also appeared in my cultures (see § 16). 

 llie same thing happened with Brozvallia erect a and Com- 

 melina tuber osa. Geranium pratense is only to be bought 

 in two forms, white and blue. I ob- 

 tained seeds from two plants which 

 were bought as Var. alba and raised 

 from them, besides pure wdiites, 

 plants wnth all grades of color ar- 

 rangement from striping and secto- 

 rial variations to complete blue (Fig. 



21). 



If it is thought desirable to put 

 the striped variety on the market it 

 must be purified by selection. The 

 striping first appears as single fine 

 streaks on occasional flowers. If 

 these plants are isolated and their 

 seeds sown separately the majority 

 of the plants raised are pure white, 

 but occasional ones are produced 



with broader and more numerous stripes. The seeds of 

 these are saved, and so on. The object is to isolate the 

 striped race from the white, and this can be attained in 

 the course of a few years. On the other hand the breeder 

 lias to fight against the tendency of the striped form to 

 return to the full blue either by buds or through seeds. 

 It is to guard against this that Vilmorin recommends 



Fig. 21. Geranium pra- 

 tense album with pie- 

 bald blue and white 



flowers, 

 parts of 

 were blue 

 white. 



The dark 



the petals 



the others 



