SOME INTERESTING FAILURES 



except in the matter of growth, which was very 

 uneven, some of the hybrids being two or three 

 times as large as others. The foliage was some- 

 what unusual; yet its resemblance to the tobacco 

 was so great that a casual observer would have 

 doubted whether the cross had really been made. 



In a word, the characteristics of the tobacco 

 plant seemed to preponderate. 



But towards spring, when the plants were set 

 again out of doors, they soon began to show the 

 influence of their mixed heritage. Some of them 

 turned crimson, and others pink; yet others 

 remaining green. Moreover, the plants them- 

 selves developed a great diversity of habit. Even 

 during the winter some of them had begun to 

 fall over and show a tendency to trail like vines. 

 As the second season advanced, some of these 

 became genuine trailers like the petunia, and 

 produced blossoms altogether different in color 

 from the red flowers of the tobacco plant. 



These plants did not bloom very abundantly, 

 but their great diversity of form and peculiarity 

 of foliage and flower made them a very striking 

 lot of plants. 



Some of them grew four or more feet in height 

 with large tobacco-like leaves, and others were 

 trailing dwarfs that to all appearances might have 

 belonged to an entirely distinct race. 



[277] 



