IQO COLIN CLOUT'S CALENDAR. 



It must not be imagined, however, that the aspar- 

 agus once passed through the butcher's broom stage : 

 the resemblance between the two plants is rather analo- 

 gical than strictly genetic. Both, doubtless, are ulti- 

 mately descended from simple typical lily ancestors, 

 which had suffered dwarfing of the true leaves through 

 their enforced restriction to dry habitats ; and with both 

 only those individuals have finally survived which 

 happened to diverge in directions adapted to their new 

 mode of life. The butcher's broom has made its way 

 by developing stiff, prickly, and expanded branches, 

 whose broad green wings do duty instead of leaves : the 

 asparagus has attained the same end by producing vast 

 numbers of small thread-like flower-stalks, only a small 

 proportion of which ever actually bear perfect flowers. 

 But so far as its blossom is concerned, the asparagus 

 stands nearer to the prime ancestor than does the 

 butcher's broom : for it still possesses three distinct 

 calyx-pieces and three petals ; whereas in its ally all 

 six parts have long since grown quite indistinguishable ; 

 and in the minor details of the stamens and pistil the 

 asparagus also retains more markedly than its ally the 

 common ancestral traits. Hence we cannot say that 

 one form has been actually derived from the other : 

 both are rather divergent descendants of a single central 

 ancestor, whose peculiarities each has modified in a 

 different direction. 



