50 



MUTANTS AND HYBRIDS OF THE OENOTHERAS. 



variability and decreased correlation be explained by the newness of 

 the species, which may be assumed to want that perfect adjustment to 

 their surroundings which an older species has acquired through the 

 cumulative effects of long-continued adaptive reactions, aided by 

 natural selection — i. e. , by the elimination of the unadapted ? This 



Fig. 13. Correlation table of length and width of leaf in Onagra 

 lamarckiana. Width of leaf subject, length relative ; p = 

 0.7916 ± 0.0090. 



question also can be answered only by experimentation and observa- 

 tion continued through a series of }'ears. 



It appears highly desirable that the statistical study of O. lamarck- 

 iana and its mutants should be continued during a series of years, 

 and that similar studies should be made of other mutating and mutant 

 species. The exact status of the mutants with regard to their varia- 

 bility and capacity for self-maintenance may be most conclusively 

 determined by the use of the methods entailed in such work. 



