Striped Flowers 323 



by the writers of the same century. Tulips, hy- 

 acinths, Cyclamen, Azalea, Camellia, and even 

 such types of garden-plants as the meadow 

 crane's-bill {Geranium pratense) have striped 

 varieties. It is always the red or blue color 

 which occurs in stripes, the underlying ground 

 being white or yellow, according to the presence 

 or absence of the yellow in the original color- 

 mixture. 



All these varieties are known to be perma- 

 nent, coming true during long series of 

 successive generations. But very little is known 

 concerning the more minute details of their he- 

 reditary qualities. They come from seed, when 

 this is taken from striped individuals, and 

 thence revert from time to time to the corre- '^ 

 sponding monochromatic type. But whether 

 they would do so when self-fertilized, and 

 whether the reversionary individuals are al- 

 ways bound to return towards the center of the 

 group or towards the opposite limit, remains to 

 be investigated. Presumably there is nowhere 

 a real transgression of the limits, and never or 

 only very rarely and at long intervals of time a 

 true production of another race with other he- 

 reditary qualities. 



In order to satisfy myself on these points, I 

 made some pedigree-cultures with the striped 

 forms of dame's violet (Hesperis matronalis) 



