The Laevifolia-Fam ily. 



:/o 



culture on good soil. I allowed the latter only to flower 

 and at the beginning of September chose the thirteen best 

 specimens with red spotted calyces and red blush on the 

 stalk, as seed-parents. 



Since that time this species has maintained its char- 

 acters. It has been left to pollinate itself and crossing 

 has not, or has scarcely ever, occurred. Later, it was used 

 for the development of a tricotylous race by weeding out 

 all specimens which did not exhibit tricotyly. 0. riibri- 

 ncrvis proved also to be almost completely annual, if 

 suitably cultivated. In the first two years during which 

 they were selected for tricotyly the 30-60 individuals 

 which were raised gave rise to no mutants which need 

 be mentioned here, but in 1894 there appeared among the 

 tricotylous forms two examples of lata, both of which 

 were annual and managed to flower ; after which they 

 were removed from the bed. 



Since 1894 I have always enclosed the flowering 

 spikes of the stock plants, i. e., plants which are chosen 

 to provide seed for growing the next generation, in 

 parchment bags and have artificially fertilized them with 

 their own pollen in order to obtain definite proof of their 

 constancy. It should be mentioned here that before this 

 time these strains exhibited a very high degree of, though 

 not an absolute, constancy. All that was necessary to 

 show this was to grow the separate species on separate 

 beds some feet apart. 



The second main branch of the /a<?T7'/<9/k7- family arose, 

 as I have already said, from the seeds of the smooth- 

 leaved plants of 1888.^ It began with two robust annual 

 smooth-leaved plants. Next year I sowed their seeds 

 on a small bed on which there flowered that summer 



^ See the table on page 273. 



