white and half pink.[852] Although several
moss-roses have thus certainly arisen by bud-variation, the greater
number probably owe their origin to seed of moss-roses. For Mr. Rivers
informs me that his seedlings from the old single moss-rose almost
always produced moss-roses; and the old single moss-rose was, as we
have seen, the product by bud-variation of the double moss-rose
originally imported from Italy. That the original moss-rose was the
product of bud-variation is probable, from the facts above given and
from the moss-rose de Meaux (also a var. of _R. centifolia_)[853]
having appeared as a sporting branch on the common rose de Meaux.

Prof. Caspary has carefully described[854] the case of a six-year-old
white moss-rose, which sent up several suckers, one of which was
thorny, and produced red flowers, destitute of moss, exactly like those
of the Provence rose (_R. centifolia_): another shoot bore both kinds
of flowers and in addition longitudinally striped flowers. As this
white moss-rose had been grafted on the Provence rose, Prof. Caspary
attributes the above changes to the influence of the stock; but from
the facts already given, and from others to be given, bud-variation,
with reversion, is probably a sufficient explanation.

Many other instances could be added of roses varying by buds. The white
Provence rose apparently thus originated.[855] The double and
highly-coloured Belladonna rose has been known[856] to produce by
suckers both semi-double and almost single white roses; whilst suckers
from one of these semi-double white roses reverted to perfectly
characterised Belladonnas. Varieties of the China rose propagated by
cuttings in St. Domingo often revert after a year or two into the old
China rose.[857] Many cases {381} have been recorded of roses suddenly
becoming striped or changing their character by segments: some plants
of the Comtesse de Chabrillant, which is properly rose-coloured, were
exhibited in 1862,[858] with crimson flakes on a rose ground. I have
seen the Beauty of Billiard with a quarter and with half the flower
almost white. The Austrian bramble (_R. lutea_) not rarely[859]
produces branches with pure yellow flowers; and Prof. Henslow has seen
exactly half the flower of a pure yellow, and I have seen narrow yellow
streaks on a single petal, of which the r