in Hybridisation 79 



plant could rank as fully fertile; many produced no fruit 

 at all ; others only yielded fruits from the flowers last pro- 

 duced, which did not ripen. From fifteen plants only were 

 well-developed seeds obtained. The greatest disposition 

 to infertility was seen in the forms with preponderantly 

 red flowers, since out of sixteen of these only four yielded 

 ripe seed. Three of these had a similar seed pattern to 

 Ph. midtiflorus, but with a more or less pale ground colour; 

 the fourth plant yielded only one seed of plain brown tint. 

 The forms with preponderantly violet coloured flowers had 

 dark brown, black-brown, and quite black seeds. 



The experiment was continued through two more genera- 

 tions under similar unfavourable circumstances, since even 

 among the offspring of fairly fertile plants there were still 

 some which were less fertile or even quite sterile. Other 

 flower- and seed-colours than those cited did not sub- 

 sequently present themselves. The forms which in the 

 first generation [bred from the hybrids] contained one or 

 more of the recessive characters remained, as regards these, 

 constant without exception. Also of those plants which 

 possessed violet flowers and brown or black seed, some did 

 not vary again in these respects in the next generation; 

 the majority, however, yielded, together with offspring 

 exactly like themselves, some which displayed white flowers 

 and white seed-coats. The red flowering plants remained 

 so slightly fertile that nothing can be said with certainty 

 as regards their further development. 



Despite the many disturbing factors with which the 

 observations had to contend, it is nevertheless seen by this 

 experiment that the development of the hybrids, with 

 regard to those characters which concern the form of the 

 plants, follows the same laws as does Pisum. With regard 

 to the colour characters, it certainly appears difficult to 



