Chances of Life 2^9 



Look now at these seed-pods and seeds. We may 

 know that they have been taken from plants of the 

 great cabbage family ; but the family likeness is so 

 strong between them that we should probably be 

 puzzled to say which would produce red cabbages 

 and which green, and from which will come crinkle- 

 leaved savoys, curly -leaved kale, Brussels sprouts, 

 broccoli, or cauliflowers. All these are but varieties 

 of the cabbage, though they are so very diflFerent 

 in appearance ; and as long as they are only seeds, 

 they are so nearly alike that their secret is quite safe 

 from ordinary people. 



Even when we know that certain plants will spring 

 from certain seeds, we are in many cases quite unable 

 to tell what the colour of the blossom will be. There 

 is no difference at all to be detected in the seed, yet 

 one seed will produce blossom of one colour and 

 another of another. But why ? 



For instance, from the seed of the verbena, phlox, 

 and sweet-pea, we know, because it has been so in the 

 past, that we shall get verbenas, phloxes, and sweet- 

 peas ; and we may go a step beyond this, and say that 

 there will be no quite blue flowers, nor any yellow 

 ones among them. This we know from experience. 

 We know, too, that, though the seeds of each sort 

 look so exactly alike, no two plants will be absolutely 

 similar, and the blossoms will vary much. Some of 

 the pea- blossoms may be pink of different shades, 

 others pink and white, or purple, though they grow 

 side by side ; and there will be still greater variety in 

 the colours of the phloxes and verbenas, some of 

 which will also have white eyes and some not. But 



