﻿376 
  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  cation 
  between 
  them 
  and 
  the 
  thalamus 
  fails, 
  so 
  

   that 
  they 
  cannot 
  be 
  thrown 
  off 
  when 
  the 
  flower 
  

   fades 
  away, 
  but 
  remain 
  as 
  small 
  stumps 
  around 
  

   the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  fully 
  converted 
  filaments. 
  

   This 
  fact 
  would 
  frequently 
  render 
  the 
  enumera- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  altered 
  organs 
  quite 
  unreliable. 
  

  

  For 
  these 
  reasons 
  I 
  have 
  chosen 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  

   arbitrary 
  stages 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  express 
  the 
  degree 
  

   of 
  deviation 
  for 
  a 
  given 
  lot 
  of 
  plants. 
  The 
  

   limits 
  were 
  chosen 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  sufficiently 
  trust- 
  

   worthy 
  and 
  easy 
  to 
  ascertain. 
  In 
  each 
  group 
  

   the 
  members 
  could 
  be 
  counted, 
  and 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  

   figures 
  was 
  reached 
  by 
  this 
  means 
  which 
  al- 
  

   lowed 
  of 
  a 
  further 
  comparison 
  of 
  the 
  competing 
  

   sets 
  of 
  plants. 
  

  

  It 
  should 
  be 
  stated 
  that 
  in 
  such 
  experiments 
  

   and 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  showy 
  crite- 
  

   rion 
  as 
  the 
  pistilloid 
  heads 
  afford 
  after 
  the 
  time 
  

   of 
  flowering 
  is 
  over, 
  the 
  inspection 
  of 
  the 
  con- 
  

   trolling 
  beds 
  at 
  once 
  indicates 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  

   experiment. 
  Even 
  a 
  hasty 
  survey 
  is 
  in 
  most 
  

   cases 
  sufficient 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  definite 
  conclusion. 
  

   Where 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  the 
  case, 
  the 
  counting 
  of 
  the 
  

   individuals 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  groups 
  often 
  does 
  not 
  

   add 
  to 
  the 
  evidence, 
  and 
  the 
  result 
  remains 
  un- 
  

   certain. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  the 
  impression 
  

   made 
  by 
  the 
  groups 
  of 
  plants 
  on 
  the 
  experi- 
  

   menter 
  and 
  on 
  his 
  casual 
  visitors, 
  cannot 
  well 
  

   be 
  conveyed 
  to 
  the 
  readers 
  of 
  his 
  account 
  by 
  

  

  