﻿574 
  Mutations 
  

  

  biennial. 
  Some 
  are 
  rich 
  in 
  pollen, 
  while 
  scin- 
  

   tillans 
  is 
  poor. 
  Some 
  have 
  large 
  seeds, 
  others 
  

   small. 
  Lata 
  has 
  become 
  pistillate, 
  while 
  

   brevistylis 
  has 
  nearly 
  lost 
  the 
  faculty 
  to 
  pro- 
  

   duce 
  seeds. 
  Some 
  undescribed 
  forms 
  were 
  

   quite 
  sterile, 
  and 
  some 
  1 
  observed 
  which 
  pro- 
  

   duced 
  no 
  flowers 
  at 
  all. 
  From 
  this 
  statement 
  it 
  

   may 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  nearly 
  all 
  qualities 
  vary 
  in 
  op- 
  

   posite 
  directions 
  and 
  that 
  our 
  group 
  of 
  mutants 
  

   affords 
  wide 
  material 
  for 
  the 
  sifting 
  process 
  of 
  

   natural 
  selection. 
  On 
  the 
  original 
  field 
  the 
  

   laevifolia 
  and 
  brevistylis 
  have 
  held 
  their 
  own 
  

   during 
  sixteen 
  years 
  and 
  probably 
  more, 
  with- 
  

   out, 
  however, 
  being 
  able 
  to 
  increase 
  their 
  num- 
  

   bers 
  to 
  any 
  noticeable 
  extent. 
  Others 
  perish 
  

   as 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  make 
  their 
  appearance, 
  or 
  a 
  

   few 
  individuals 
  are 
  allowed 
  to 
  bloom, 
  but 
  prob- 
  

   ably 
  leave 
  no 
  progeny. 
  

  

  But 
  perhaps 
  the 
  circumstances 
  may 
  change, 
  

   or 
  the 
  whole 
  strain 
  may 
  be 
  dispersed 
  and 
  spread 
  

   to 
  new 
  localities 
  with 
  different 
  conditions. 
  Some 
  

   of 
  the 
  latter 
  might 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  favorable 
  to 
  

   the 
  robust 
  gigas, 
  or 
  to 
  rubrinervis, 
  which 
  re- 
  

   quires 
  a 
  drier 
  air, 
  with 
  rainfall 
  in 
  the 
  spring- 
  

   time 
  and 
  sunshine 
  during 
  the 
  summer. 
  It 
  would 
  

   be 
  worth 
  while 
  to 
  see 
  whether 
  the 
  climate 
  

   of 
  California, 
  where 
  neither 
  0. 
  lamarckiana 
  

   nor 
  0. 
  biennis 
  are 
  found 
  wild, 
  would 
  not 
  exactlv 
  

  

  V 
  

  

  