ies close to each other. The
comparison of the amount of difference between widely different organs is
necessarily vague; I will therefore give the results in only a few cases.
We have previously seen in the ninth chapter how greatly the varieties of
the cabbage differ in their foliage and stems, which are the selected
parts, and how closely they resembled each other in their flowers,
capsules, and seeds. In seven varieties of the radish, the roots differed
greatly in colour and shape, but no difference {218} whatever could be
detected in their foliage, flowers, or seeds. Now what a contrast is
presented, if we compare the flowers of the varieties of these two plants
with those of any species cultivated in our flower-gardens for ornament; or
if we compare their seeds with those of the varieties of maize, peas,
beans, &c., which are valued and cultivated for their seeds. In the ninth
chapter it was shown that the varieties of the pea differ but little except
in the tallness of the plant, moderately in the shape of the pod, and
greatly in the pea itself, and these are all selected points. The
varieties, however, of the _Pois sans parchemin_ differ much more in their
pods, and these are eaten and valued. I cultivated twelve varieties of the
common bean; one alone, the Dwarf Fan, differed considerably in general
appearance; two differed in the colour of their flowers, one being an
albino, and the other being wholly instead of partially purple; several
differed considerably in the shape and size of the pod, but far more in the
bean itself, and this is the valued and selected part. Toker's bean, for
instance, is twice-and-a-half as long and broad as the horse-bean, and is
much thinner and of a different shape.

The varieties of the gooseberry, as formerly described, differ much in
their fruit, but hardly perceptibly in their flowers or organs of
vegetation. With the plum, the differences likewise appear to be greater in
the fruit than in the flowers or leaves. On the other hand, the seed of the
strawberry, which corresponds with the fruit of the plum, differs hardly at
all; whilst every one knows how greatly the fruit--that is, the enlarged
receptacle--differs in the several varieties. In apples, pears, and peaches
the flowers and leaves differ considerably, but not, as far as I can judge,
in proportion with the fruit. The Chinese double-flowering peaches, on the
other hand, show that varieties of this tree have been formed, wh