Mr. Galton, after
examining some of my tables, remarks: "It is very evident that the
columns with the self-fertilised plants include the larger number of
exceptionally small plants;" and the frequent presence of such puny
plants no doubt stands in close relation with their liability to
premature death. The self-fertilised plants of Petunia completed their
growth and began to wither sooner than did the intercrossed plants; and
these latter considerably before the offspring from a cross with a fresh
stock.
PERIOD OF FLOWERING.
In some cases, as with Digitalis, Dianthus, and Reseda, a larger number
of the crossed than of the self-fertilised plants threw up flower-stems;
but this probably was merely the result of their greater power of
growth; for in the first generation of Lobelia fulgens, in which the
self-fertilised plants greatly exceeded in height the crossed plants,
some of the latter failed to throw up flower-stems. With a large number
of species, the crossed plants exhibited a well-marked tendency to
flower before the self-fertilised ones growing in the same pots. It
should however be remarked that no record was kept of the flowering of
many of the species; and when a record was kept, the flowering of the
first plant in each pot was alone observed, although two or more pairs
grew in the same pot. I will now give three lists,--one of the species
in which the first plant that flowered was a crossed one,--a second in
which the first that flowered was a self-fertilised plant,--and a third
of those which flowered at the same time.
Pages:
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425