191-5] Goodspeed: Parthenogenesis, Parthenocarpy, Phenospermy 253 



as much data as possible be accumulated concerning the condition 

 of the bud to be treated and the condition of the plant at the time 

 of treatment. Thus the length of each bud at the time of castration 

 or mutilation was determined and recorded and the date when the 

 first flowers opened was noted for every plant. These data give 

 a basis for comparison as to the "age" of the plants at the time of 

 treatment. The maximum length of unopened buds was 49 mm. — 

 the measurement being taken from the point of union of the pedicel 

 and calyx to the tips of the folded corolla lobes. As the tightly folded 

 corolla lobes begin to open back, the anthers open, and I have rarely 

 found a bud unopened and less than 48 mm. long in which pollen was 

 being shed. The length of the buds treated seemed to be the only 

 reliable method of distinguishing between younger and older buds. 

 In these experiments of the first year it was desired only to deter- 

 mine whether the age of the bud when treated was significant for 

 the production of parthenogenesis or parthenocarpy. It seemed also 

 desirable that the position on the plant of the bud to be treated 

 should be determined. Thus the records were so kept that it is 

 possible to state whether the castration or mutilation was made 

 upon the terminal inflorescence, on one of the four or five "bald 

 suckers," or on some one of the lower laterals. These data are in 

 a sense supplementary to those that describe the age of the plant, 

 since the lower leafy laterals were in flower later than the terminal 

 inflorescence or the bald suckers. The number of the flower parts 

 was also determined in each case, since it seemed at least possible 

 that the four-parted flowers might give results somewhat different 

 from the more normally five-parted flowers. 



The second point which was considered to be essential with refer- 

 ence to these experiments had to do with providing all possible checks 

 upon the treatment given the buds. All doubt as to whether or not 

 the various operations had been correctly carried out can be eliminated 

 by saving in every bag all the flower parts. This is not easy to do 

 when the bag must be opened to pick off adventitious buds, but 

 it is, to my mind, an absolute necessity for any sure interpretation 

 of results in such work. In the case of the castrations and mutila- 

 tions tabulated below the corollas of the flowers originally treated 

 were in every case available for examination when the seed was 

 cleaned (Goodspeed, 1912, p. 129) and again when it was sown. Every 

 corolla ^\•as examined under the dissecting microscope to determine 



