﻿Poly 
  cephalic 
  Poppies 
  373 
  

  

  combined 
  with 
  another 
  deviation 
  in 
  the 
  poppies. 
  

   This 
  is 
  the 
  growing 
  together 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  

   altered 
  stamens 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  constitute 
  smaller 
  or 
  

   larger 
  connate 
  groups. 
  Often 
  two 
  are 
  united, 
  

   sometimes 
  three, 
  four 
  or 
  more. 
  Flowers 
  with 
  

   numerous 
  altered 
  stamens 
  are 
  seldom 
  wholly 
  

   free 
  from 
  this 
  most 
  undesirable 
  secondary 
  

   anomaly. 
  I 
  call 
  it 
  undesirable 
  with 
  respect 
  

   to 
  experiments 
  on 
  the 
  variability 
  of 
  the 
  

   character. 
  For 
  it 
  may 
  easily 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  

   while 
  it 
  is 
  feasible 
  to 
  count 
  the 
  stamens 
  

   even 
  when 
  converted 
  into 
  pistils, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  

   possible 
  when 
  groups 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  more 
  or 
  

   less 
  intimately 
  united 
  into 
  single 
  bodies. 
  This 
  

   combination 
  makes 
  all 
  enumeration 
  difficult 
  and 
  

   inaccurate 
  and 
  often 
  wholly 
  unreliable. 
  In 
  

   such 
  cases 
  the 
  observation 
  is 
  limited 
  to 
  a 
  compu- 
  

   tation 
  of 
  the 
  degree 
  of 
  the 
  change, 
  rather 
  than 
  

   to 
  a 
  strict 
  numerical 
  inquiry. 
  Happily 
  the 
  re- 
  

   sponses 
  to 
  the 
  experimental 
  influences 
  are 
  so 
  

   marked 
  and 
  distinct 
  that 
  even 
  this 
  method 
  of 
  de- 
  

   scribing 
  them 
  has 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  wholly 
  sufficient. 
  

  

  In 
  extreme 
  instances 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  all 
  the 
  

   changed 
  stamens 
  of 
  a 
  flower 
  of 
  the 
  opium-poppy 
  

   united 
  into 
  a 
  single 
  body, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  close 
  

   sheath 
  all 
  around 
  the 
  central 
  ovary. 
  Lesser 
  

   sheaths, 
  surrounding 
  one-half 
  or 
  one-third 
  of 
  

   the 
  capsule 
  are 
  of 
  course 
  less 
  rarely 
  met 
  with. 
  

  

  Leaving 
  this 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  outer 
  appear- 
  

  

  