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Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882

"Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom"

A record was kept with respect to the plant which
flowered first in each pot; and only two of the crossed flowered before
one of the self-fertilised in the same pot; whilst eight of the
self-fertilised flowered first. It thus appears that the crossed plants
are slightly inferior in height and in earliness of flowering to the
self-fertilised. But the inferiority in height is so small, namely as
100 to 106, that I should have felt very doubtful on this head, had I
not cut down all the plants (except those in the crowded pot Number 10)
close to the ground and weighed them. The twenty-seven crossed plants
weighed 16 1/2 ounces, and the twenty-seven self-fertilised plants 20
1/2 ounces; and this gives a ratio of 100 to 124.
A self-fertilised plant of the same parentage as those in Table 2/12 had
been raised in a separate pot for a distinct purpose; and it proved
partially sterile, the anthers containing very little pollen. Several
flowers on this plant were crossed with the little pollen which could be
obtained from the other flowers on the same plant; and other flowers
were self-fertilised. From the seeds thus produced four crossed and four
self-fertilised plants were raised, which were planted in the usual
manner on the opposite sides of two pots. All these four crossed plants
were inferior in height to their opponents; they averaged 78.18 inches,
whilst the four self-fertilised plants averaged 84.


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