Plantayo Lanccolata Ramosa. 151 
as usual, sown separately. The higher figures 58 % and 
59% were derived from the offspring of a plant which 
had been divided into two in 1893, after which one-half 
of it was grown on sand and the other on ordinary 
garden soil. I shall have to revert to the effect of this 
treatment on the plant itself; but it will be observed that 
the differential treatment had no visible effect on the 
offspring of the two halves. (The numbers of indi- 
viduals dealt with in the two cultures were 57 and 60 
respectively. ) 
The seeds of the typical individuals of my race of 
1894 I sowed in 1897 under normal conditions, as usual 
(seed sown in the greenhouse; seedlings pricked out into 
pots, and afterwards transplanted to the beds). The 
seed had been saved from two plants with richly branched 
ears. It produced a culture of 70 plants which flowered 
and contained 47% atavists. Whilst flowering was pro- 
ceeding I transplanted all the ramosa-plants whose ears 
were only slightly branched, and marked among the re- 
mainder a specimen which seemed to be the most pro- 
fusely branched. I harvested seed from those flowers 
only which protruded their stigma after this separation 
had taken place and after the atavists had been weeded 
out. Seed was harvested separately from each plant. In 
the following summer (1898, 8th generation) it was 
seen that the seed of the best seed-parent had only pro- 
duced 45% atavists (among 100 plants that flowered). 
The seeds of the average seed-parents gave 56%, and 
those of the worst, 59%. Selection had therefore a dis- 
tinct, although not a very great effect. It should be re- 
marked that the number of average seed-parents was 8, 
and that of the worst ones 10. The composition of the 
progeny was determined separately for each seed-parent, 
