378 Ever-sporting Varieties 



of this exceptionally high degree of variability 

 to the inner and outer conditions of life. 



As a rule, all experiments show the existence 

 of such a relation. Unfavorable conditions re- 

 duce the numbers of altered stamens, favorable 

 circumstances raise it to its highest point. This 

 holds true for lots including hundreds of speci- 

 mens, but also for the sundry heads of one bed, 

 and often for one single plant. 



We may compare the terminal flower with 

 those of the lateral branches on a plant, and 

 when no special influences disturb the experi- 

 ment, the terminal head ordinarily bears the 

 richest crown. If the first has more than 

 100 metamorphosed parts, the latter have 

 often less than 50 on the same plant. In poor 

 soil, terminal heads are often reduced to 10 - 20 

 monstrous organs, and in such cases I found the 

 lateral flowers of the same plants ordinarily 

 with less than 10 altered stamens. In some 

 cases I allowed the branches of the third and 

 fourth degree, in other words, the side twigs of 

 the first branches of my selected plants to grow 

 out and produce flowers in the fall. They were 

 ordinarily weak, sometimes very small, having 

 only 5-9 stigmas on their central fruit. Sec- 

 ondary capsules were not seen on such flowers, 

 even when the experiment was repeated on a 



