CHRYSANTHEMUM SPORTS. 



555 



to the latter would be inestimable boons to the former, if only 

 he could get at them. The practical man, unfortunately, does 

 not always perceive their significance, but if every sport that has 

 occurred on Chrysanthemums had been recorded, coupled with 

 the whole history of the plant and description of its surroundings, 

 the method and kind of soil used, &c, we should probably have 

 known much more than we do now, as Dr. Masters suggests, who 

 thus wrote : — " Whoever will investigate the cause of these 

 sudden outbursts of local variation must, of course, sedulously 

 examine each case for himself, according to the measure of his 

 ability and of his opportunity. The circumstances, the history, 

 the progress, the anatomy, of each particular sport must be 

 investigated, both absolutely and in relation to similar out- 

 growths in other plants. Until this is done, and it has not been 

 done yet, any explanation as to the cause of the phenomenon 

 must be a matter of speculation." * The only way likely to lead 

 to an interpretation of the origin of sports is by means of such 

 careful observations as Dr. Masters here suggests and by experi- 

 ments. Unfortunately, this is just the means which florists and 

 practical cultivators of all sorts apparently have no time for 

 carrying out. It requires great patience, and in the end any 

 particular series of experiments may lead to no practical results. 

 The experimenter must work in faith, and be in nowise dis- 

 heartened if no result immediately follow. 



Could these admirable recommendations be carried out, I 

 might perhaps at this moment have been holding forth on " The 

 Causes of Sports, and How to Produce them," instead of being 

 compelled to expose my ignorance by saying that neither I nor 

 any botanist, as far as I know, can yet fully expound the " why " 

 and the " wherefore " of bud variation. 



* " Bud Variations or Sports," Card. Chron, Jan. 10, 17, 24, Feb 21 

 1891. 



B 2 



