166 



Gigantism in Primula sinensis 



abnormally petalled plants was continued only for a few generations 

 the negative results cannot be claimed as decisive. 



TABLE I. 

 Selection Experiments with White Queen Star (IP. Q. S.). 



1903 W. Q. S. from seed 



1904 no abnormality observed. Selfed W. Q. S. 



Fi 1905 some plants with occasional 6-petalled flowers 

 selfed a 6-petalled flower 



i*2 1906 plants with most flowers normal, a few with 6 or 7 petals 

 selfed a 



It may be added that, as shown in Table I, the habit of forming 

 supernumerary petals has not manifested itself in later generations 

 to so marked a degree as it did during the time of the selection- 

 experiment, and that the race of White Queen Star now growing 

 at Reading, which consists of descendants of the 6- or 7-petalled 

 plants, is not distinguished to any marked degree by this abnormality. 



The interest attaching to the series of experiments which has just 

 been described lies, however, in another direction. For it was in the 

 course of these experiments that a Giant variety of White Queen 

 Star was obtained. The mode of origin of the Giant race is set 

 forth in detail in Table II. 



As indicated in Table II, gigantism manifested itself in the ^4 

 generation (1908). That generation, which was composed of 11 plants, 

 consisted of giant forms only. The striking appearance presented by 



