422 EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANTS 



The hybrid may resemble both parents and possess 

 intermediate characters. This is the more usual con- 

 dition, and may show itself as a mixing of the 

 characters, as when a red flower crossed with a 

 yellow one gives a spotted flower with red and yellow 

 spots standing side by side; or it may result in a 

 blending of characters, giving in this case a uniformly 

 orange -colored flower; or, finally, we may have the 

 characters both mixed and blended, giving orange- 

 colored petals with red and yellow spots. 



The hybrid frequently resembles one parent much 

 more than the other, sometimes showing the char- 

 acters of one parent only. 



It very frequently happens that the hybrid is of 

 greater size and vigor than either of the parents. 

 A good illustration of this is seen in Fig. 231. Another 

 case in point is the Shasta Daisy (Fig. 240), which 

 also shows how the qualities of diverse parents may 

 be skilfully combined. It is the result of a cross 

 between the common Field Daisy of the eastern United 

 States ( chosen for its free - flowering habit ) , a 

 European Daisy (chosen for its vigor and size), and 

 a Japanese Daisy (chosen for the peculiar dazzling 

 white luster of its petals). The hybrid proved larger 

 than its parents and, by selection, flowers have been 

 obtained which under good cultivation reach a diameter 

 of six inches (see Fig. 240, which shows the Shasta 

 and the American parent; the English and Japanese 



