Mutations 77 



of white. The seeds from this plant were saved and 

 sown the next year. From this progeny of two hundred 

 plants, four or five individuals appeared which showed 

 the same diverging characteristics. 



"From these, by further horticultural processes, the 

 strain of Shirley poppies originated." Lock remarks, 

 in passing, that if the original plant had been self-pol- 

 linated, a much larger proportion of the new type might 

 have been expected to appear hi the next generation. 



Cupid sweet pea. Another example of a mutation is 

 found in the case of the Cupid sweet pea (Fig. 22) . Until 

 about fifteen years ago the only sweet peas known were 

 the tall, climbing sorts, which grew to a height of 

 three to six feet, depending on the richness of the soil. 

 At this time, there was found in the seed trial grounds of 

 Morse & Company of California, a small dwarf sweet 

 pea plant only about six or eight inches high. This was 

 growing in a row of the Emily Henderson variety, one of 

 the ordinary tall sorts from which it evidently sprang. 

 Seed of this dwarf plant was saved and grown and it was 

 found to reproduce plants of the same dwarf character. 

 The variety was designated "The Cupid," under which 

 name it was introduced to the seed trade and distributed 

 over the world. The Cupid differed from other sweet 

 peas not only in height, but in its closely set leaves and 

 general habit of growth. Indeed, it is as distinct from 

 other sweet peas as are distinct species of plants in 

 nature. 



It has been found that this dwarf Cupid sweet pea 

 mendelized with the tall ordinary sorts and appears as 

 recessive. 



