﻿Laws 
  of 
  Fluctuations 
  723 
  

  

  branches. 
  The 
  same 
  holds 
  good 
  for 
  the 
  number 
  

   of 
  ray-florets 
  in 
  the 
  flower-heads 
  of 
  the 
  com- 
  

   posites, 
  even 
  for 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  stigmas 
  on 
  the 
  

   ovaries 
  of 
  the 
  poppies, 
  which 
  on 
  weak 
  branches 
  

   may 
  be 
  reduced 
  to 
  as 
  few 
  as 
  three 
  or 
  four. 
  

   Many 
  other 
  instances 
  could 
  be 
  given. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  authenticated 
  cases 
  is 
  the 
  de- 
  

   pendency 
  of 
  partial 
  fluctuation 
  on 
  the 
  season 
  

   and 
  on 
  the 
  weather. 
  Flowers 
  decline 
  when 
  the 
  

   season 
  comes 
  to 
  an 
  end, 
  become 
  smaller 
  and 
  less 
  

   brightly 
  colored. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  ray-florets 
  in 
  

   the 
  flower-heads 
  is 
  seen 
  to 
  decrease 
  towards 
  the 
  

   fall. 
  Extremes 
  become 
  rarer, 
  and 
  often 
  the 
  

   deviations 
  from 
  the 
  average 
  seem 
  nearly 
  to 
  dis- 
  

   appear. 
  Double 
  flowers 
  comply 
  with 
  this 
  rule 
  

   very 
  closely, 
  and 
  many 
  other 
  cases 
  will 
  easily 
  

   occur 
  to 
  any 
  student 
  of 
  nature. 
  

  

  Of 
  course, 
  the 
  relation 
  to 
  nourishment 
  is 
  dif- 
  

   ferent 
  for 
  individual 
  and 
  partial 
  fluctuations. 
  

   Concerning 
  the 
  first, 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  development 
  

   of 
  the 
  germ 
  within 
  the 
  seed 
  is 
  decisive. 
  Even 
  

   the 
  sexual 
  cells 
  may 
  be 
  in 
  widely 
  different 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  at 
  the 
  moment 
  of 
  fusion, 
  and 
  perhaps 
  this 
  

   state 
  of 
  the 
  sexual 
  cells 
  includes 
  the 
  whole 
  mat- 
  

   ter 
  of 
  the 
  decision 
  for 
  the 
  average 
  characters 
  of 
  

   the 
  new 
  individual. 
  Partial 
  fluctuation 
  com- 
  

   mences 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  leaves 
  and 
  buds 
  begin 
  to 
  

   form, 
  and 
  all 
  later 
  changes 
  in 
  nutrition 
  can 
  

   only 
  cause 
  partial 
  differences. 
  All 
  leaves, 
  

  

  