Plantago Laiiccolafa Rauiosa. 151 



as usual, sown separately. The iiigher figures 58% and 

 59% were derived from the offspring of a plant which 

 had been divided into two in 1893, after which one-half 

 of it was grown on sand and the other on ordinary 

 garden soil. I shall have to revert to the effect of this 

 treatment on the plant itself; but it will be observed that 

 the differential treatment had no visible effect on the 

 offspring of the two halves. (The numbers of indi- 

 viduals dealt with in the two cultures were 57 and 60 

 respectively. ) 



The seeds of the typical individuals of my race of 

 1894 I sowed in 1897 under normal conditions, as usual 

 (seed sown in the greenhouse; seedlings pricked out into 

 pots, and afterwards transplanted to the beds). The 

 seed had been saved from two plants with richly branched 

 ears. It produced a culture of 70 plants which flowered 

 and contained 47% atavists. Whilst flowering was pro- 

 ceeding I transplanted all the ra;// o^a-plants whose ears 

 were only slightly branched, and marked among the re- 

 mainder a specimen which seemed to be the most pro- 

 fusely branched. I harvested seed from those flowers 

 only which protruded their stigma after this separation 

 had taken place and after the atavists had been weeded 

 out. Seed was harvested separately from each plant. In 

 the following summer (1898, 8th generation) it was 

 seen that the seed of the best seed-parent had only pro- 

 duced 45% atavists (among 100 plants that flowered). 

 The seeds of the average seed-parents gave 56%, and 

 those of the worst, 59%. Selection had therefore a dis- 

 tinct, although not a very great effect. It should be re- 

 marked that the number of average seed-parents was 8, 

 and that of the worst ones 10. The composition of the 

 progeny was determined separately for each seed-parent, 



