156 Atavism. 
picked all the ears of a small group of plants, and ob- 
tained the following figures: 
Ears without any branching . . . 191 
Ears with one lateral ear 80 
Ears with two lateral ears .... 136 
Ears with three lateral ears .... 93 
Ears with four lateral ears .... 33 
Ears with five lateral ears .... 12 
Sum of ears 545 
The degree of branching in this group was fairly 
low; nevertheless the apex of the curve of the atavistic 
ears is distinct from that of the branched ones. This 
phenomenon could indeed be easily observed, even with- 
out any counting, on account of the relative scarcity of 
heads bearing a single lateral ear, a fact which I have 
also observed repeatedly since. This is a character of 
the eversporting variety and suggests the possibility that 
the one-branched ears which are so common in nature 
(where the rauwsa-form, as is well known, is not at all 
rare) presumably constitute the half race; but I have 
not investigated this point. 
The number of compound ears per plant, and the 
degree of branching in each, are to a great extent de- 
pendent on the conditions of life. The stronger the 
growth of the whole plant, and the richer the foliage, 
the more pronounced will the anomaly be. Therefore, 
a more profuse branching of the individual ears usually 
goes hand in hand with a richness of branched inflores- 
cences. The branching also manifests a certain periodic- 
ity. The young plants almost always begin with un- 
branched ears; it is not until later that the monstrosity 
appears, gradually increasing in strength. Then towards 
the end of the summer I often observed a diminution in 
the amount of branching and often the formation of 
