264 PLANT HYBRIDIZATION BEFORE MENDEL 



of parent peculiarities in every cell. This was easily demonstrated in the 

 case of epidermal tissues, which are apparently the most plastic of all." 

 (P- 543-) 



Being unwilling to rest upon conclusions derived from such 

 highly specialized forms, he examined other known hybrids, be- 

 longing to various orders, including Dianthus hndsayi, Philageria 

 veitchii^ Saxifraga andrewsiv and churckillii^ and H edy chium sad- 

 lerianum. "These," he says, "not only verified my previous con- 

 clusions, but enabled me to extend them in a convincing way." 



(P-544-) 



It is interesting to note certain characters among those investi- 

 gated by Macfarlane, in evidence of his conclusions on the inter- 

 mediacy of hybrids. In the case of Dianthus lindsayi, a cross be- 

 tween Dianthus harhatus and Dianthus alpinus^ the former par- 

 ent has 900 stomata on the lower, and 100-400 on the upper 

 epidermis ; the latter, 600 on the lower, and 460 on the upper 

 epidermis. The hybrid has 750 stomata on the lower, and 290 on 

 the upper surface. The epidermal cells of the hybrid were also 

 found to be intermediate. In the rhizome of the cross between 

 Hedychium coronarium and H. gardnerianum^ it was found, that 

 while the starch granules of the former were large, flat, oval 

 plates, and those of the latter small triangular shells, those of 

 the hybrid were shaped as though half of the granule in H. 

 coronarium had been gradually fused with a reduced one of H. 

 gardnerianum. Investigations of the starch grains in H. coronar- 

 ium and H. elatum gave similar results. In the orchid-hybrid 

 known as Masdevallia chelsoni, compared with one of its parents, 

 some investigations were made on the inheritance of flower color. 

 This hybrid has purplish-red sepals, the color effect being the com- 

 bined result of large yellow chromoplasts in the epidermal cells, 

 and epidermal hairs filled with purple pigment. In M. chelsoni 

 the size of the chromoplasts was found to be from one-third to 

 one-half the size of those found in the parent examined. In 

 Bryanthus erectus^ a bigeneric hybrid of the Ericaceae (a cross 

 between Rhododendron chamaecistus and Menziesia empetriformis 

 var. Drummondii)^ in the relative size of the pith cells; in the 

 structure of the phloem ; in the shape and disposition of the leaf 

 cells in transverse section; and in the structure of the floral parts, 

 the hybrid was found to be intermediate between the parents. 



