Especially disturbing is the
circumstance that from a horticultural point of view it is quite
sufficient that a new type should repeat itself in some of its offspring
to be called stable, and that for this reason absolute constancy is
rarely proved.
The range of constant hybrids would be larger by far were it not for two
facts. The first is the absolute sterility of so many beautiful hybrids,
and the second is the common occurrence of retrogressive characters
among cultivated plants. To describe the importance of both these groups
of facts would take too much [270] time, and therefore it seems best to
give some illustrative examples instead.
Among the species of _Ribes_ or currant, which are cultivated in our
gardens, the most beautiful are without doubt the Californian and the
Missouri currant, or _Ribes sanguineum_ and _R. aureum_. A third form,
often met with, is "Gordon's currant," which is considered to be a
hybrid between the two. It has some peculiarities of both parents. The
leaves have the general form of the Californian parent, but are as
smooth as the Missouri species. The racemes or flower-spikes are densely
flowered as in the red species, but the flowers themselves are of a
yellow tinge, with only a flesh-red hue on the outer side of the calyx.
It grows vigorously and is easily multiplied by cuttings, but it never
bears any fruit.
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