ME. C. DARAVIN ON SPECIFIC DIFPERENCES IN PRIMULA. 447 



the same law prevails with the pure unions, the hybrid unions 

 and the hybrid offspring of dimorphic species. 



Seed from the long-styled Oxlip fertilized by its own pollen was 

 sown, and three plants, which, according to the usual rule, were 

 all long-styled, were raised. The first of these was identical in 

 every character with its parent. The second bore rather smaller 

 flowers, of a paler colour, almost like that of the Primrose; the 

 scapes were at first single-flowered, but later in the season a tall 

 thick scape, bearing many flowers, like that of the parent 0x1 ip; 

 was thrown up. The third plant likewise produced at first only 

 single-flowered scapes, with the flowers rather small and of a 

 darker yellow ; but it perished early ; otherwise it would probably 

 have thrown up an umbel The second plant also died in Septem- 

 ber ; and the first plant, though all three grew under very favour- 

 able conditions, looked very sickly. Hence we may infer that 

 seedlings from a self-fertilized Oxlip would not be able to exist 

 in a state of nature. I was surprised to find that all the 

 poUen-grains in the first of these seedling Oxlips appeared sound ; 

 and in the second only a moderate number were bad. These 

 two plants, however, did not reacquire the power of producing 

 the proper number of seeds ; for though left uncovered and sur- 

 rounded by pure Primroses and Cowslips, the capsules were esti- 

 mated to include an average of only from fifteen to twenty 

 seeds. 



Prom having many experiments in hand, I did not sow the seed 

 obtained by reciprocally crossing Primroses and Cowslips with the 

 Oxlips, and I now regret this ; but I ascertained a more interesting 

 point, namely, the character of the oflTspring from Oxlips in a state 

 of nature growing near both Primroses and Cowslips. The Oxlips 

 were the same plants which were subsequently transplanted and 

 experimented on. Prom seed thus obtained eight plants were 

 raised, which, when they flowered, might have been mistaken for 

 pure Primroses ; but on close comparison the eye in the centre of 

 the corolla was seen to be of a darker yellow, and the peduncles 

 more elongated. As the season advanced, one of these plants 

 threw up two naked scapes, seven inches in height, which bore 

 umbels of flowers of the same character as before. This fact led 

 me to examine the other plants after they had flowered and were 

 dug up ; and I found in all that the flower-peduncles sprung from 

 an extremely short common scape, of which no trace can be found 

 in the pure Primrose. Hence these plants are beautifully inter- 

 mediate between the Oxlip and the Primrose, inclining rather 



