Under these circumstances, it seemed advisable to ascertain what would
be the effect of legitimately crossing long-styled plants of the fourth
illegitimate generation with pollen taken from non-related short-styled
plants, growing under different conditions. Accordingly several flowers
on plants of the fourth illegitimate generation (i.e.,
great-great-grandchildren of plants which had been legitimately
fertilised), growing vigorously in pots in the greenhouse, were
legitimately fertilised with pollen from an almost wild short-styled
cowslip, and these flowers yielded some fine capsules. Thirty other
flowers on the same illegitimate plants were fertilised with their own
pollen, and these yielded seventeen capsules, containing on an average
thirty-two seeds. This is a high degree of fertility; higher, I believe,
than that which generally obtains with illegitimately fertilised
long-styled plants growing out of doors, and higher than that of the
previous illegitimate generations, although their flowers were
fertilised with pollen taken from a distinct plant of the same form.
These two lots of seeds were sown (for they will not germinate well when
placed on bare sand) on the opposite sides of four pots, and the
seedlings were thinned, so that an equal number were left on the two
sides. For some time there was no marked difference in height between
the two lots; and in Pot 3, Table 6/93, the self-fertilised plants were
rather the tallest.
Pages:
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333