﻿Origin 
  of 
  Peloric 
  Toadflax 
  473 
  

  

  these, 
  stray 
  peloric 
  flowers 
  were 
  observed 
  in 
  

   somewhat 
  larger 
  number 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  previous 
  

   generations, 
  11 
  plants 
  bearing 
  one 
  or 
  two, 
  

   or 
  even 
  three 
  such 
  abnormalities. 
  This 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  a 
  real 
  advance, 
  

   since 
  such 
  plants 
  may 
  occur 
  in 
  varying, 
  though 
  

   ordinarily 
  small 
  numbers 
  in 
  every 
  generation. 
  

  

  Besides 
  them 
  a 
  single 
  plant 
  was 
  seen 
  to 
  bear 
  

   only 
  peloric 
  flowers 
  ; 
  it 
  produced 
  racemes 
  on 
  sev- 
  

   eral 
  stems 
  and 
  their 
  branches. 
  All 
  were 
  peloric 
  

   without 
  exception. 
  I 
  kept 
  it 
  through 
  the 
  winter, 
  

   taking 
  care 
  to 
  preserve 
  a 
  complete 
  isolation 
  of 
  

   its 
  roots. 
  The 
  other 
  plants 
  were 
  wholly 
  de- 
  

   stroyed. 
  Such 
  annihilation 
  must 
  include 
  both 
  

   the 
  stems 
  and 
  roots 
  and 
  the 
  latter 
  of 
  course 
  re- 
  

   quires 
  considerable 
  labor. 
  The 
  following 
  year, 
  

   however, 
  gave 
  proof 
  of 
  the 
  success 
  of 
  the 
  opera- 
  

   tion, 
  since 
  my 
  plant 
  bloomed 
  luxuriously 
  for 
  the 
  

   second 
  time 
  and 
  remained 
  true 
  to 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  

   the 
  first 
  year, 
  producing 
  peloric 
  flowers 
  ex- 
  

   clusively. 
  

  

  Here 
  we 
  have 
  the 
  first 
  experimental 
  mutation 
  

   of 
  a 
  normal 
  into 
  a 
  peloric 
  race. 
  Two 
  facts 
  were 
  

   clear 
  and 
  simple. 
  The 
  ancestry 
  was 
  known 
  for 
  

   over 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  four 
  generations, 
  living 
  under 
  

   the 
  ordinary 
  care 
  and 
  conditions 
  of 
  an 
  experi- 
  

   mental 
  garden, 
  isolated 
  from 
  other 
  toad-flaxes, 
  

   but 
  freely 
  fertilized 
  by 
  bees 
  or 
  at 
  times 
  by 
  my- 
  

   self. 
  This 
  ancestry 
  was 
  quite 
  constant 
  as 
  to 
  

  

  