Thesesameflowersalsovariedmuchinthenumberofthepetals，andoccasionallyinthenumberofthestamensandpistils;sothattheyweresemi—monstrousinstructure，yettheyproducedplentyoffruit。Mr。
ThompsonremarksthatinthePastimegooseberry"extrabractsareoftenattachedtothesidesofthefruit。"（10/124。’CatalogueofFruitsofHort。
Soc。Garden’3rdedition1842。）
Themostinterestingpointinthehistoryofthegooseberryisthesteadyincreaseinthesizeofthefruit。Manchesteristhemetropolisofthefanciers，andprizesfromfiveshillingstofiveortenpoundsareyearlygivenfortheheaviestfruit。The’GooseberryGrowersRegister’ispublishedannually;theearliestknowncopyisdated1786，butitiscertainthatmeetingsfortheadjudicationofprizeswereheldsomeyearspreviously。（10/125。Mr。ClarksonofManchesterontheCultureoftheGooseberryinLoudon’s’Gardener’sMagazine’volume41828page482。）The’Register’for1845givesanaccountof171GooseberryShows，heldindifferentplacesduringthatyear;andthisfactshowsonhowlargeascaletheculturehasbeencarriedon。Thefruitofthewildgooseberryissaid（10/126。Downing’FruitsofAmerica’page213。）toweighaboutaquarterofanounceor5dwts。，thatis，120grains;abouttheyear1786gooseberrieswereexhibitedweighing10dwts。，sothattheweightwasthendoubled;in181726dwts。17grs。wasattained;therewasnoadvancetill1825，when31
dwts。16grs。wasreached;in1830"Teazer"weighed32dwts。13grs。;in1841"Wonderful"weighed32dwts。16grs。;in1844"London"weighed35
dwts。12grs。，andinthefollowingyear36dwts。16grs。;andin1852inStaffordshire，thefruitofthesamevarietyreachedtheastonishingweightof37dwts。7grs。（10/127。’Gardener’sChronicle’1844page811whereatableisgiven;and1845page819。Fortheextremeweightsgainedsee’JournalofHorticulture’July26，1864page61。）or896grs。;thatis，betweensevenoreighttimestheweightofthewildfruit。Ifindthatasmallapple，61/2inchesincircumference，hasexactlythissameweight。
The"London"gooseberry（whichin1852hadaltogethergained333prizes）
has，uptothepresentyearof1875，neverreachedagreaterweightthanthatattainedin1852。Perhapsthefruitofthegooseberryhasnowreachedthegreatestpossibleweight，unlessinthecourseoftimesomenewanddistinctvarietyshallarise。
Thisgradual，andonthewholesteadyincreaseofweightfromthelatterpartofthelastcenturytotheyear1852，isprobablyinlargepartduetoimprovedmethodsofcultivation，forextremecareisnowtaken;thebranchesandrootsaretrained，compostsaremade，thesoilismulched，andonlyafewberriesareleftoneachbush（10/128。Mr。SaulofLancasterinLoudon’s’Gardener’sMag。’volume31828page421;andvolume101834page42。）buttheincreasenodoubtisinmainpartduetothecontinuedselectionofseedlingswhichhavebeenfoundtobemoreandmorecapableofyieldingsuchextraordinaryfruit。Assuredlythe"Highwayman"in1817couldnothaveproducedfruitlikethatofthe"RoaringLion"in1825;norcouldthe"RoaringLion，"thoughitwasgrownbymanypersonsinmanyplaces，gainthesupremetriumphachievedin1852bythe"London"Gooseberry。
WALNUT（Juglansregia）。
Thistreeandthecommonnutbelongtoawidelydifferentorderfromtheforegoingfruits，andarethereforeherenoticed。ThewalnutgrowswildontheCaucasusandintheHimalaya，whereDr。Hooker（10/129。’HimalayanJournals’1854volume2page334。Moorcroft’Travels’volume2page146
describesfourvarietiescultivatedinKashmir。）foundthefruitoffullsize，but"ashardasahickory—nut。"Ithasbeenfoundfossil，asM。deSaportainformsme，inthetertiaryformation，ofFrance。
InEnglandthewalnutpresentsconsiderabledifferences，intheshapeandsizeofthefruit，inthethicknessofthehusk，andinthethinnessoftheshell;thislatterqualityhasgivenrisetoavarietycalledthethin—
shelled，whichisvaluable，butsuffersfromtheattacksoftitmice。
（10/130。’Gardener’sChronicle’1850page723。）Thedegreetowhichthekernelfillstheshellvariesmuch。InFrancethereisavarietycalledtheGrapeorcluster—walnut，inwhichthenutsgrowin"bunchesoften，fifteen，oreventwentytogether。"Thereisanothervarietywhichbearsonthesametreedifferentlyshapedleaves，liketheheterophylloushornbeam;
thistreeisalsoremarkablefromhavingpendulousbranches，andbearingelongated，large，thin—shellednuts。（10/131。PapertranslatedinLoudon’s’Gardener’sMag。’1829volume5page202。）M。Cardanhasminutelydescribed（10/132。Quotedin’Gardener’sChronicle’1849page101。）somesingularphysiologicalpeculiaritiesintheJune—leafingvariety，whichproducesitsleavesandflowersfourorfiveweekslaterthanthecommonvarieties;andalthoughinAugustitisapparentlyinexactlythesamestateofforwardnessastheotherkinds，itretainsitsleavesandfruitmuchlaterintheautumn。Theseconstitutionalpeculiaritiesarestrictlyinherited。
Lastly，walnut—trees，whichareproperlymonoicous，sometimesentirelyfailtoproducemaleflowers。（10/133。’Gardener’sChronicle’1847pages541and558。）
NUTS（Corylusavellana）。
Mostbotanistsrankallthevarietiesunderthesamespecies，thecommonwildnut。（10/134。Thefollowingdetailsaretakenfromthe’CatalogueofFruits，1842inGardenofHort。Soc。’page103;andfromLoudon’s’Encyclop。ofGardening’page943。）Thehusk，orinvolucre，differsgreatly，beingextremelyshortinBarr’sSpanish，andextremelylonginfilberts，inwhichitiscontractedsoastopreventthenutfallingout。
Thiskindofhuskalsoprotectsthenutfrombirds，fortitmice（Parus）
havebeenobserved（10/135。’Gardener’sChron。’1860page956。）topassoverfilberts，andattackcobsandcommonnutsgrowinginthesameorchard。
Inthepurple—filbertthehuskispurple，andinthefrizzled—filbertitiscuriouslylaciniated;inthered—filbertthepellicleofthekernelisred。
Theshellisthickinsomevarieties，butisthininCosford’s—nut，andinonevarietyisofabluishcolour。Thenutitselfdiffersmuchinsizeandshape，beingovateandcompressedinfilberts，nearlyroundandofgreatsizeincobsandSpanishnuts，oblongandlongitudinallystriatedinCosford’s，andobtuselyfour—sidedintheDowntonSquarenut。
CUCURBITACEOUSPLANTS。
Theseplantshavebeenforalongperiodtheopprobriumofbotanists;
numerousvarietieshavebeenrankedasspecies，and，whathappensmorerarely，formswhichnowmustbeconsideredasspecieshavebeenclassedasvarieties。Owingtotheadmirableexperimentalresearchesofadistinguishedbotanist，M。Naudin（10/136。’AnnalesdesSc。Nat。Bot。’4thseriesvolume61856page5。），afloodoflighthasrecentlybeenthrownonthisgroupofplants。M。Naudin，duringmanyyears，observedandexperimentedonabove1200livingspecimens，collectedfromallquartersoftheworld。SixspeciesarenowrecognisedinthegenusCucurbita;butthreealonehavebeencultivatedandconcernus，namely，C。maximaandpepo，whichincludeallpumpkins，gourds，squashes，andthevegetablemarrow，andC。moschata。Thesethreespeciesarenotknowninawildstate;butAsaGray（10/137。’AmericanJourn。ofScience’2ndseriesvolume241857page442。）givesgoodreasonforbelievingthatsomepumpkinsarenativesofN。
America。
Thesethreespeciesarecloselyallied，andhavethesamegeneralhabit，buttheirinnumerablevarietiescanalwaysbedistinguished，accordingtoNaudin，bycertainalmostfixedcharacters;andwhatisstillmoreimportant，whencrossedtheyyieldnoseed，oronlysterileseed;whilstthevarietiesspontaneouslyintercrosswiththeutmostfreedom。Naudininsistsstrongly（page15），that，thoughthesethreespecieshavevariedgreatlyinmanycharacters，yetithasbeeninsocloselyananalogousmannerthatthevarietiescanhearrangedinalmostparallelseries，aswehaveseenwiththeformsofwheat，withthetwomainracesofthepeach，andinothercases。Thoughsomeofthevarietiesareinconstantincharacter，yetothers，whengrownseparatelyunderuniformconditionsoflife，are，asNaudinrepeatedly（pages6，16，35）urges，"doueesd’unestabilitepresquecomparableacelledesespeceslesmieuxcaracterisees。"
Onevariety，l’Orangin（pages43，63），hassuchprepotencyintransmittingitscharacter，thatwhencrossedwithothervarietiesavastmajorityoftheseedlingscometrue。Naudin，referring（page47）toC。pepo，saysthatitsraces"nedifferentdesespecesveritablesqu’encequ’ellespeuvents’allierlesunesauxautresparvoied’hybridite，sansqueleurdescendanceperdelafacultedeseperpetuer。"Ifweweretotrusttoexternaldifferencesalone，andgiveupthetestofsterility，amultitudeofspecieswouldhavetobeformedoutofthevarietiesofthesethreespeciesofCucurbita。Manynaturalistsatthepresentdaylayfartoolittlestress，inmyopinion，onthetestofsterility;yetitisnotimprobablethatdistinctspeciesofplantsafteralongcourseofcultivationandvariationmayhavetheirmutualsterilityeliminated，aswehaveeveryreasontobelievehasoccurredwithdomesticatedanimals。Nor，inthecaseofplantsundercultivation，shouldwebejustifiedinassumingthatvarietiesneveracquireaslightdegreeofmutualsterility，asweshallmorefullyseeinafuturechapterwhencertainfactsaregivenonthehighauthorityofGartnerandKolreuter。（10/138。Gartner’Bastarderzeugung’1849s。87ands。169withrespecttoMaize;onVerbascumibids。92and181;alsohis’KenntnissderBefruchtung’s。137。
WithrespecttoNicotianaseeKolreuter’ZweiteForts。’1764s。53;thoughthisisasomewhatdifferentcase。）
TheformsofC。pepoareclassedbyNaudinundersevensections，eachincludingsubordinatevarieties。Heconsidersthisplantasprobablythemostvariableintheworld。Thefruitofonevariety（pages33，46）exceedsinvaluethatofanotherbymorethantwothousandfold！Whenthefruitisofverylargesize，thenumberproducedisfew（page45）;whenofsmallsize，manyareproduced。Nolessastonishing（page33）isthevariationintheshapeofthefruit，thetypicalformapparentlyisegg—like，butthisbecomeseitherdrawnoutintoacylinder，orshortenedintoaflatdisc。Wehavealsoanalmostinfinitediversityinthecolourandstateofsurfaceofthefruit，inthehardnessbothoftheshellandoftheflesh，andinthetasteoftheflesh，whichiseitherextremelysweet，farinaceous，orslightlybitter。Theseedsalsodifferinaslightdegreeinshape，andwonderfullyinsize（page34），namely，fromsixorseventomorethantwenty—fivemillimetresinlength。
Inthevarietieswhichgrowuprightordonotrunandclimb，thetendrils，thoughuseless（page31），areeitherpresentorarerepresentedbyvarioussemi—monstrousorgans，orarequiteabsent。Thetendrilsareevenabsentinsomerunningvarietiesinwhichthestemsaremuchelongated。Itisasingularfactthat（page31）inallthevarietieswithdwarfedstems，theleavescloselyresembleeachotherinshape。]
Thosenaturalistswhobelieveintheimmutabilityofspeciesoftenmaintainthat，eveninthemostvariableforms，thecharacterswhichtheyconsiderofspecificvalueareunchangeable。Togiveanexamplefromaconscientiouswriter（10/139。Godron’Del’Espece’tome2page64。）who，relyingonthelaboursofM。Naudin，andreferringtothespeciesofCucurbita，says，"aumilieudetouteslesvariationsdufruit，lestiges，lesfeuilles，lescalices，lescorolles，lesetaminesrestentinvariablesdanschacuned’elles。"YetM。Naudin，indescribingCucurbitapepo（page30），says，"Ici，d’ailleurs，cenesontpasseulementlesfruitsquivarient，c’estaussilefeuillageettoutleportdelaplante。Neanmoins，jecroisqu’onladistingueratoujoursfacilementdesdeuxautresespeces，sil’onveutnepasperdredevuelescaracteresdifferentielsquejem’efforcedefaireressortir。Cescaracteressontquelquefoispeumarques:ilarrivememequeplusieursd’entreeuxs’effacentpresqueentierement，maisiienrestetoujoursquelques—unsquiremettentl’observateursurlavoie。"Nowletitbenotedwhatadifference，withregardtotheimmutabilityoftheso—
calledspecificcharactersthisparagraphproducesonthemind，fromthatabovequotedfromM。Godron。
Iwilladdanotherremark:naturalistscontinuallyassertthatnoimportantorganvaries;butinsayingthistheyunconsciouslyargueinaviciouscircle;forifanorgan，letitbewhatitmay，ishighlyvariable，itisregardedasunimportant，andunderasystematicpointofviewthisisquitecorrect。Butaslongasconstancyisthustakenasthecriterionofimportance，itwillindeedbelongbeforeanimportantorgancanbeshowntobeinconstant。Theenlargedformofthestigmas，andtheirsessilepositiononthesummitoftheovary，mustbeconsideredasimportantcharacters，andwereusedbyGasparinitoseparatecertainpumpkinsasaDISTINCTGENUS;butNaudinsays（page20），thesepartshavenoconstancy，andintheflowersoftheTurbanvarietiesofC。maximatheysometimesresumetheirordinarystructure。Again，inC。maxima，thecarpels（page19）
whichformtheturbanprojectevenasmuchastwo—thirdsoftheirlengthoutofthereceptacle，andthislatterpartisthusreducedtoasortofplatform;butthisremarkablestructureoccursonlyincertainvarieties，andgraduatesintothecommonforminwhichthecarpelsarealmostentirelyenvelopedwithinthereceptacle。InC。moschatatheovarium（page50）
variesgreatlyinshape，beingoval，nearlyspherical，orcylindrical，moreorlessswollenintheupperpart，orconstrictedroundthemiddle，andeitherstraightorcurved。WhentheovariumisshortandovaltheinteriorstructuredoesnotdifferfromthatofC。maximaandpepo，butwhenitiselongatedthecarpelsoccupyonlytheterminalandswollenportion。Imayaddthatinonevarietyofthecucumber（Cucumissativus）thefruitregularlycontainsfivecarpelsinsteadofthree。（10/140。Naudin’Annal。
desSc。Nat。’4thseriesBot。tome111859page28。）Ipresumethatitwillnotbedisputedthatweherehaveinstancesofgreatvariabilityinorgansofthehighestphysiologicalimportance，andwithmostplantsofthehighestclassificatoryimportance。
[Sageret（10/141。’MemoiresurlesCucurbitacees’1826pages6，24。）andNaudinfoundthatthecucumber（C。sativus）couldnotbecrossedwithanyotherspeciesofthegenus;thereforenodoubtitisspecificallydistinctfromthemelon。Thiswillappeartomostpersonsasuperfluousstatement;
yetwehearfromNaudin（10/142。’FloredesSerres’October1861quotedin’Gardener’sChronicle’1861page1135。IhaveoftenconsultedandtakensomefactsfromM。Naudin’sMemoironCucumisin’Annal。desSc。Nat。’4thseriesBot。tome111859page5。）thatthereisaraceofmelons，inwhichthefruitissolikethatofthecucumber，"bothexternallyandinternally，thatitishardlypossibletodistinguishtheonefromtheotherexceptbytheleaves。"Thevarietiesofthemelonseemtobeendless，forNaudinaftersixyears’studyhadnotcometotheendofthem:hedividesthemintotensections，includingnumeroussub—varietieswhichallintercrosswithperfectease。（10/143。SeealsoSageret’Memoire’page7。）OftheformsconsideredbyNaudintobevarieties，botanistshavemadethirtydistinctspecies！"andtheyhadnottheslightesta...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：