SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



189 



a very great general improvement is effected in many of the pro- 

 geny, and this follows the general tendency that every part of 

 every plant has, a tendency on propagation to produce the cha- 

 racter of the part of the plant from which it is grown. Thus, if a 

 peck of Potatoes is cut into three sorts of sets, and these sets are 

 grown separately, the product in each case resembles the part 

 from which the set is cut. Thus, cut the crown of the Potato off 

 for one set, and the single bottom eye for another, planting the 

 middle for the third ; in this case only the middle resembles the 

 parent, the crown Potatoes being covered with eyes, while the 

 bottom eye sets have scarcely any. The valuable knowledge of 

 this law is a great help in the production of variations, but seems 

 to give us little or no clue to the reason of sports in individual 

 sorts of plants or single plants themselves, or why a Chrysanthe- 

 mum, after growing from seed for years in one colour and habit, 

 should sport to another colour, and in my own place, in one 

 instance, into another habit. This was when the Pompon 

 Fiberta, early yellow sort, sported to a late sort with a different 

 habit, leaf, and flower, being taller and later, and the colour of 

 the flower bronze, besides being of quite different shape. This 

 was a sucker from the root, being the most wonderful sport I know, 

 all others being only in colour of the flowers or leaves. I named 

 the new sort Root Sport. But, with all our observation, we 

 at present seem quite in the dark as to why sports originate on 

 plants — that is, why part of a plant should come of a different 

 colour and remain so. This seems to occur more frequently in 

 England than in the United States, though this may only be 

 owing to more plants and sorts being cultivated here. Another 

 feature in the occurrence of sports is, that when a sport in a 

 Chrysanthemum arises in one place, it often does so within a 

 season or so in another ; there are many cases on record of this. 

 My own belief is, that a very slight chemical change in some way 

 effects the alteration, and of course that in a state of nature may 

 mean whether a plant can survive or not. Just so, too, in art — if 

 a sport is useful we propagate it, if not, it is thrown away. 



It frequently happens that one of the early or semi-early 

 sorts gains a certificate from the fact that it is grown for show in 

 the late sort way — that is, disbudded and exhibited as a fine flower 

 or two, which is no criterion of its merits, such as belong to the 

 early sorts. Pomponium some time back obtained a certificate, 



