nto play with both,
and it may affect the whole, or only segments, of a leaf, flower, or fruit.
When the tendency to reversion affects many buds on the same tree, it
becomes covered with different kinds of leaves, flowers, or fruit; but
there is reason to believe that such fluctuating varieties have generally
arisen from seed. It is well known that, out of a number of seedling
varieties, some transmit their character much more truly by seed than
others; so with bud-varieties some retain their character by successive
buds more truly than others; of which instances have been given with two
kinds of variegated Euonymus and with certain kinds of tulips.
Notwithstanding the sudden production of bud-varieties, the characters thus
acquired are sometimes capable of transmission by seminal reproduction: Mr.
Rivers has found that moss-roses generally {410} reproduce themselves by
seed; and the mossy character has been transferred by crossing, from one
species of rose to another. The Boston nectarine, which appeared as a
bud-variation, produced by seed a closely allied nectarine. We have however
seen, on the authority of Mr. Salter, that seed taken from a branch with
leaves variegated through bud-variation, transmits this character very
feebly; whilst many plants, which became variegated as seedlings, transmit
variegation to a large proportion of their progeny.

Although I have been able to collect a good many cases of bud-variation, as
shown in the previous lists, and might probably, by searching foreign
horticultural works, have collected more cases, yet their total number is
as nothing in comparison with that of seminal varieties. With seedlings
raised from the more variable cultivated plants, the variations are almost
infinitely numerous, but their differences are generally slight: only at
long intervals of time a strongly marked modification appears. On the other
hand, it is a singular and inexplicable fact that, when plants vary by
buds, the variations, though they occur with comparative rarity, are often,
or even generally, strongly pronounced. It struck me that this might
perhaps be a delusion, and that slight changes often occurred in buds, but
from being of no value were overlooked or not recorded. Accordingly I
applied to two great authorities on this subject, namely, to Mr. Rivers
with respect to fruit-trees, and to Mr. Salter with respect to flowers. Mr.
Rivers is doubtful, but does not remember having noticed very slig