102 MR. J. SCOTT ON THE FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURE OF THE 
treated by own pollen does not extend itself to the cross-wnions 
of the different forms, the relative degree of fertility of the similar 
homomorphic and heteromorphie cross-unions being very irregular. 
Thus, in Table B., the long-styled heteromorphie cross of P. vul- 
garis by pollen of P. vulgaris alba yields more seed than that of 
the similar short-styled heteromorphic cross, in nearly the pro- 
portion of 19 to 17 seeds per capsule. In the converse unions of 
these, the long-styled heteromorphie cross of P. vulgaris alba also 
exceeds the similar short-styled heteromorphie cross, in about 
the proportion of 19 to 15. Again, in Table A. we see the 
highest degree of fertility resulting from the converse union of 
that in Table B., namely the short-styled homomorphie cross of 
P. vulgaris by pollen of P. vulgaris alba. In the long-styled 
homomorphie as compared with the long-styled heteromorphie 
unions, the highest degree of fertility is also the result of the 
converse unions of P. vulgaris and P. vulgaris alba! This dis- 
cordance in the results of the different crosses surprised me much, 
though perhaps, after all, I bad no right to expect perfect accord- 
ance or definite results from the reciprocal unions of normal 
individuals of a species, which consequently had a long-acquired 
morphological status, and of those from incipient or unestablished 
forms. 
There is another point in the above tables to which I wish par- 
ticularly to draw attention, namely the decreased proportion of 
seeds resulting from the cross-unions of P. vulgaris and P. vul- 
garis alba, relatively to the pure unions of either form. Thus, if 
we look to the short-styled heteromorphie unions, we find the P. 
vulgaris alba yielding with its own pollen above 20 seeds per 
capsule, while with the pollen of P. vulgaris it scarcely yields 
15 seeds per capsule—that is, nearly as 2 t0 3! Again, in the 
corresponding table of the homomorphie unions we find these 
proportions increased,—namely, P. vulgaris alba by own pollen 
yielding about 11 seeds per capsule, and by pollen of the.P. vulgaris 
about 5 seeds per capsule, thus giving the proportions of 2 to 1! 
Such results as these from plants presenting no other appreciable 
difference than that of colour well exposes the slippery founda- 
tion of that dogma of natural seienee which would have us be- 
lieve that nature had specially endowed organic beings with ste- 
rility to prevent the blending of specific types. These illustrations 
of sterility, in conjunction with those remarkable revelations of 
dimorphism, in which the sexual organs of a hermaphrodite indi- 
vidual undergo such great differentiations with respect to their 
