As it was scarcely possible to measure their heights, the
finest plant on each side of each pot was cut down close to the ground
and weighed. In Table 4/30 we have the result.
The six finest crossed plants average 108.16 ounces, whilst the six
finest self-fertilised plants average only 23.7 ounces, or as 100 to 22.
This difference shows in the clearest manner the enormous benefit which
these plants derived from a cross with another plant belonging to the
same sub-variety, but to a fresh stock, and grown during at least the
three previous generations under somewhat different conditions.
THE OFFSPRING FROM A CUT-LEAVED, CURLED, AND VARIEGATED WHITE-GREEN
CABBAGE CROSSED WITH A CUT-LEAVED, CURLED, AND VARIEGATED CRIMSON-GREEN
CABBAGE, COMPARED WITH THE SELF-FERTILISED OFFSPRING FROM THE TWO
VARIETIES.
These trials were made, not for the sake of comparing the growth of the
crossed and self-fertilised seedlings, but because I had seen it stated
that these varieties would not naturally intercross when growing
uncovered and near one another. This statement proved quite erroneous;
but the white-green variety was in some degree sterile in my garden,
producing little pollen and few seeds. It was therefore no wonder that
seedlings raised from the self-fertilised flowers of this variety were
greatly exceeded in height by seedlings from a cross between it and the
more vigorous crimson-green variety; and nothing more need be said about
this experiment.
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