LECTURE XII 



FIVE-LEAVED CLOVER 



Every one knows the " four-leaved " clover. 

 It is occasionally found on lawns, in pastures 

 and by the roadsides. Specimens with five leaf- 

 lets may be found now and then in the same 

 place, or on the same plant, but these are rarer. 

 I have often seen isolated plants with quater- 

 nate leaves, but only rarely have I observed in- 

 dividuals with more than one such leaf. 



The two cases are essentially dissimilar. 

 They may appear to differ but little morpholog- 

 ically, but from the point of view of heredity 

 they are quite different. Isolated quaternate 

 leaves are of but little interest, while combina- 

 tions of them are of some importance, and may 

 be observed only in cultivated plants, never in 

 wild species. In making experiments upon this 

 point it is necessary to transplant the divergent 

 individuals to a garden in order to furnish them 

 proper cultural conditions and to keep them 

 under constant observation. When a plant 

 bearing a quaternate leaf is thus transplanted, 



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