Mutations in Horticulture GOT 



the new one of the variety and the correspond- 

 ing character of the original species. 



In such cases isolation is usuall}^ accompanied 

 by selection: rarely has the first of a double, 

 striped or variegated race well filled or richly 

 striped flowers or highly spotted leaves. 

 Usually minor degrees of the anomaly are seen 

 first, and the breeder expects the novelty to de- 

 velop its features more completely and more 

 beautifully in subsequent generations. Some 

 varieties need selection only in the beginning, 

 in others the most perfect specimens must 

 be chosen every year as seed-bearers. For 

 striped flowers, it has been prescribed by Vil- 

 morin, that seeds should be taken only from 

 those with the smallest stripes, because there is 

 always reversion. Mixed seed or seed from 

 medium types would soon yield plants with too 

 broad stripes, and therefore less diversified 

 flowers. 



In horticulture, new varieties, both retrograde 

 and ever-sporting, are known to occur almost 

 yearly. Nevertheless, not every novelty of the 

 gardener is to be considered as a mutation in 

 the scientific sense of the word. First of all, 

 the novelties of perennial and woody species are 

 to be excluded. Any extreme case of fluctuat- 

 ing variability may be preserved and multiplied 

 in the vegetative way. Such types are desig- 



