﻿Striped 
  Flowers 
  335 
  

  

  the 
  other 
  half 
  singles, 
  the 
  question 
  arises, 
  

   where 
  are 
  the 
  singles 
  and 
  the 
  doubles 
  to 
  be 
  

   found 
  on 
  the 
  parent-plant? 
  

  

  The 
  answer 
  is 
  partly 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  following 
  

   experiment. 
  Starting 
  from 
  the 
  general 
  rule 
  of 
  

   the 
  great 
  influence 
  of 
  nutrition 
  on 
  variability, 
  

   it 
  may 
  be 
  assumed 
  that 
  those 
  seeds 
  will 
  give 
  

   most 
  doubles, 
  that 
  are 
  best 
  fed. 
  Now 
  it 
  is 
  man- 
  

   ifest 
  that 
  the 
  stem 
  and 
  larger 
  branches 
  are 
  in 
  

   a 
  better 
  condition 
  than 
  the 
  smaller 
  twigs, 
  and 
  

   that 
  likewise 
  the 
  first 
  fruits 
  have 
  better 
  chances 
  

   than 
  the 
  ones 
  formed 
  later. 
  Even 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  

   pod 
  the 
  uppermost 
  seeds 
  will 
  be 
  in 
  a 
  compara- 
  

   tively 
  disadvantageous 
  position. 
  This 
  concep- 
  

   tion 
  leads 
  to 
  an 
  experiment 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  basis 
  

   of 
  a 
  practical 
  method 
  much 
  used 
  in 
  France 
  in 
  

   order 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  higher 
  percentage 
  of 
  seeds 
  of 
  

   double-flowering 
  plants. 
  

  

  This 
  method 
  consists 
  in 
  cutting 
  off, 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  

   place 
  the 
  upper 
  parts 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  larger 
  spikes, 
  in 
  

   the 
  second 
  place, 
  the 
  upper 
  third 
  part 
  of 
  each 
  

   pod, 
  and 
  lastly 
  all 
  the 
  small 
  and 
  weak 
  twigs. 
  

   In 
  doing 
  so 
  the 
  percentage 
  is 
  claimed 
  to 
  go 
  up 
  

   to 
  67 
  - 
  70$, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  instances 
  even 
  higher. 
  

   This 
  operation 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  performed 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  

   required 
  number 
  of 
  flowers 
  have 
  ceased 
  blos- 
  

   soming. 
  All 
  the 
  nutrient 
  materials, 
  destined 
  

   for 
  the 
  seeds, 
  are 
  now 
  forced 
  to 
  flow 
  into 
  these 
  

   relatively 
  few 
  embryos, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  clear 
  that 
  

  

  