The
plants after a time appeared starved, and were therefore, without being
disturbed, turned out of their pots, and planted in the open ground in
two close parallel rows. They were thus subjected to tolerably severe
competition with one another; but not nearly so severe as if they had
been left in the pots. At the time when they were turned out, their
leaves were between 5 and 8 inches in length, and the longest leaf on
the finest plant on each side of each pot was measured, with the result
that the leaves of the crossed plants exceeded, on an average, those of
the self-fertilised plants by .4 of an inch.
In the following summer the tallest flower-stem on each plant, when
fully grown, was measured. There were seventeen crossed plants; but one
did not produce a flower-stem. There were also, originally, seventeen
self-fertilised plants, but these had such poor constitutions that no
less than nine died in the course of the winter and spring, leaving only
eight to be measured, as in Table 3/23.
TABLE 3/23. Digitalis purpurea.
The tallest Flower-stem on each Plant measured in inches: 0 means that
the Plant died before a Flower-stem was produced.
Column 1: Number (Name) of Pot.
Column 2: Crossed Plants.
Column 3: Self-fertilised Plants.
Pot 1 : 53 6/8 : 27 4/8.
Pot 1 : 57 4/8 : 55 6/8.
Pot 1 : 57 6/8 : 0.
Pot 1 : 65 : 0.
Pot 2 : 34 4/8 : 39.
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