In the beginning of my discussion I have asserted the existence of two
different races of "four-leaved" clovers, a poor one and a rich one, and
have insisted on a sharp distinction between them. This distinction
partly depends on experiments with clover, but in great part on tests
with other plants. The previously mentioned circumstance, that clover
cannot be pollinated on a sufficiently large scale otherwise than by
insects, prevents trials in more than one direction at the same time and
in the same garden. For this reason I have chosen another species of
clover to be able to give proof or disproof of the assertion quoted.
This species is the Italian, or crimson clover, which is sometimes also
called scarlet clover (_Trifolium incarnatum_). It is commonly used in
Europe as a crop on less fertile soils than are required by the red
clover. It is annual [354] and erect and more or less hairy, and has
stouter leaves than other kinds of clover. It has oblong or cylindrical
heads with bright crimson flowers, and may be considered as one of the
most showy types. As an annual it has some manifest advantages over the
perennial species, especially in giving its harvest of hay at other
seasons of the year.
I found some stray quaternate leaves of this plant some years ago, and
tried to win from them, through culture and selection, a race that would
be as rich in these anomalies as the red clover. But the utmost care and
the most rigid selection, and all the attention I could afford, failed
to produce any result. It is now ten years since I commenced this
experiment, and more than once I have been willing to give it up. Last
year (1903) I cultivated some hundreds of selected plants, but though
they yielded a few more instances of the desired anomaly than in the
beginning, no trace of a truly rich race could be discovered. The
experimental evidence of this failure shows at least that stray
"four-leaves" may occur, which do not indicate the existence of a true
"four-" or "five-leaved" variety.
This conception seems destined to become of great value in the
appreciation of anomalies, as they are usually found, either in the wild
state [355] or in gardens. And before describing the details of my
unsuccessful pedigree-culture, it may be as well to give some more
instances of what occurs in nature.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account