462 REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE ON GENETICS. 
prominent that it is almost impossible for one single flower to be self- 
fertilised. On the other hand, for example, how difficult this is in the 
case of the stock-gillyflower, in which one is almost too late when one 
even opens the bud for the purpose. 
In a reliable artificial fertilisation of a pelargonium, it is almost impos- 
sible for any foreign influence to take effect ; hence the observations made 
in this case are of quite peculiar value. 
It is of course necessary to have very exact data, from which must be 
constructed our fundamental rules, in order therefrom to continue con- 
structing further and further until the ideal is attained. 
To go into this with further particulars would take too long, as it in- 
volved fifteen years of work and cannot be disposed of in a few moments. 
I only want to make one more observation, for which—up to the 
present—I have no better explanation than that even in the fertilisation 
of plants “inclination ’’ also plays a part. 
It is a very remarkable fact that a natural hybrid multiplies more 
rapidly ; firstly, it is seldom quite infertile, and secondly, its descendants 
are nearly always constant—that is, they retain the new qualities. On 
the other hand, artificial hybridisation produces many infertile hybrids, 
of which the descendants always revert to the type. As an example of 
this :—The Stock which was a natural hybrid between the Dresden and 
summer Stock formed a white ‘ Excelsior’ stock and remained constant ; 
that is to say, my next year’s seedlings produced only symmetrical plants 
with one peduncle, and none at all which reminded me of the primitive 
‘Dresden’ form. But when I crossed this new variety with coloured 
‘Dresden’ and ‘Giant’ varieties (Riesenbomben), in order to arrive at an 
‘Excelsior’ with a variety of colours, I hadin the following year scarcely 
one quite true-coloured plant amongst them ; even the white ones had 
reverted. From this it took six years before I arrived at an assortment 
of ten constant colours. 
In conclusion, I wish to say that if I have accomplished much with 
my pelargoniums, as appears to be the case from the numerous recogni- 
tions which I have received from people of all countries, I am still far 
from having attained the ideal which I have set before myself, since with 
each new result obtained one’s aims become wider, and it would be a 
source of great pleasure to me to see at least some of these realised. 
Above all, I should like to advance so far that pelargoniums would be 
raised entirely from seeds, as is the case with cinerarias and primulas. 
Visitors to my nurseries, where thousands of seedlings are raised annually, 
are always charmed with them, and believe this time to be not far off. 
In a conscientious raising of seeds, my strain remains entirely con- 
stant and I obtain a great variety of the most charming colours, of which 
scarcely two are quite the same. It needs no gardener to say that a 
strain grown from seeds is much more satisfactory than one grown from 
cuttings, for there is much more vigorous growth in a seedling. 
Finally, people will be won over to a strain from seed, because the 
greater the wealth of bloom and the longer the blooming season lasts, so 
much the less will be the formation of a growth suitable for cuttings. 
Thus my aim must be to get a more plentiful production of seed 
which will germinate with more uniformity, as at present some germinate 
at the end of fourteen days and others not for six months. 
