88 MR. J. SCOTT ON THE FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURE OF THE 
lie over though high above the nearly sessile stigma, thus affording 
a great facility for the pollen falling upon it. Indeed, but for the 
coherent nature of the pollen-grains, which do not readily fall from 
the anthers, these short-styled Auriculas would very regularly 
yield an amount of seed equal to an ordinary homomorphie 
union. 
I may here notice a fact with which I have only lately become 
acquainted, though I understand it has been long known to cul- 
tivators of the Auricula, viz. that if “alpine” Auriculas* are 
grown amongst other varieties, the seeds saved from the latter 
produce plants the majority of which present the characteristics 
of the “ alpine ” variety. So that the pollen of this variety appa- 
rently exercises a prepotent influence over that of the other 
varieties, as shown by its superior power of impressing likeness 
on the offspring. It would be interesting to know if the female 
element possesses a like prepotency in transmitting likeness when 
treated with the pollen of the others, or whether, as is more fre- 
quently the case in the crossing of species, this power runs more 
strongly in the one sex than in the other. Irrespective of this, 
however, we see—and the fact is highly interesting from its bear- 
ings on one of the alleged physiological differences between species 
and varieties—that varieties like species when crossed have occa- 
sionally an individual prepotency in transmitting likeness. To 
recur to our more immediate subject: in ignorance of the above 
knowledge respecting the dispersion of the pollen of “ alpine” 
Auriculas, I was much surprised at the great fertility of a some- 
what isolated long-styled “self "-Auriculat, the nearest to it 
being a short-styled “alpine” variety about four yards distant. 
The former of these plants produced a single umbel, every capsule 
of which was full of seed; and thus presented a marked contrast 
with the results I had previously got from long- and short-styled 
plants growing together in a bed. I have now no doubt, though 
I have not proved it by sowing the seed, that the increased fer- 
tility of the above plant was due to fertilization by pollen of the 
neighbouring “alpine” plant. 
In the following table I have given the results of several arti- 
fieial “homomorphie” and *heteromorphie unions" of yellow- 
* A term applied by florists to those varieties of Auricula which have that 
portion of the flower immediately around the stamens ofa yellow, and that ex- 
terior to this of different colours. 
t The term “self” is applied by the florist to those varieties which have 8 
circle of white surrounding the stamens, exterior to which is a broad single 
coloured border. 
