iri?. C. PAKWIN ON SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN PEIMULA. 439 



however, botl 

 tilde*. 



degfi 



The Cowslip and Primrose, when reciprocally crossed, are far 

 from fertile. Gartner t crossed 27 flowers of P. vulgaris with 

 pollen of P. veris, and obtained 16 capsules ; but these did not 

 contain any good seed. lie also crossed 21 flowers of P. veris 

 with pollen of P. vulgaris ; and now he got only 5 capsules, con- 

 taining seed in a still less perfect condition. Grartner knew 

 nothing about dimorphism ; and his complete failure may perhaps 

 be accounted for by his having crossed together the same form of 

 the Cowslip and Primrose ; for this would have been an illegiti- 

 mate as well as a hybrid union, and would consequently have 

 been sterile in the highest degree. I was rather more fortunate 

 m my trials : I crossed legitimately three flowers on the long- 

 styled and three on the short-styled Cowslip, with pollen from the 

 opposite form of the Primrose, and obtained one capsule contain- 

 ing the large number of 48 apparently good seeds. I crossed on 

 the same plant six flow^ers illegitimately, with pollen from the cor- 

 responding form of the Primrose, and obtained three capsules, 

 containing seeds so poor that there was no chance of thier germi- 

 nation. I likewise fertilized 12 flowers of the Primrose, consisting 

 of both forms, with pollen from both forms of the Cowslip, and 18 

 flowers in the same manner with pollen of the Polyanthus, I 

 should here state that the Polyanthus is a variety of the Cowslip, 

 as I infer from their mongrel offspring being perfectly fertile 

 inter se; and as there seems to be no essential difference J in the 

 action of Cowslip- and Polyanthus-pollen on the Primrose, the 

 results are here run together. Eight long-styled and seven ehort- 



Lecoq, 



See 



also Ann. & Mag. of Nat. Hist. ix. (1842) pp. 156, 515. Also Boreau, * Flore du 



1840 



Watson, *Crbele 



ranty of P. veris 



t Bastarderzeugnng, 1849, p. 721. 



J Mr. Scott has discussed this subject (Proc. Linn. Soc. viii. Bot. (1864) 



arrired 



crosses 



experiments were tried to justify his conclusions. The results of sterih 

 are always liable to much fluctuation. Pollen from the Cowslip at first appears 

 rather more efficient on the Primrose than that of the Polyanthus ; for 12 flowers 

 of both forms of the Primrose, fertilized legitimately and illegitimately by the 

 Cowslip, gave 5 capsules, containing 324 seeds; whilst IS flowers similarly fer- 



seeds 



■oduced 



finest of the whole lot. 



