316 Ever-sporting Varieties 



with all their intermediate links of narrower 

 and broader, fewer and more numerous streaks. 

 But on a close inspection one does not succeed 

 in finding pure yellow racemes. Little lines of 

 red may be found on nearly every flower. They 

 are the extreme type on this side of the range 

 of variability. From them an almost endless 

 range of patterns passes over to the broadest 

 stripes and even to whole sections of a pure red. 

 But then, between these and the wholly red 

 flowers we observe a gap, which may be narrow- 

 er by the choice of numerous broad striped in- 

 dividuals, but which is never wholly filled up. 

 Hence we see that the red flowers are a separate 

 type within the striped variety. 



This red type springs yearly from the striped 

 form, and yearly reverts to it. This is what in 

 the usual descriptions of this snapdragon is 

 called its sporting. The breadth of the streaks 

 is considered to be an ordinary case of varia- 

 bility, but the red flowers appear suddenly, with- 

 out the expected links. Therefore they are to 

 be considered as sports. Similarly the red 

 forms may suddenly produce striped ones, and 

 this too is to be taken as a sport, according to 

 the usual conception of the word. 



Such sports may occur in different ways. 

 Either by seeds, or by buds, or even within 

 the single spikes. Both opposite reversions, 



