188 Observation of the Origin of Varieties. 



viduals whicli had 21, 21, and 22 rays respectively, in their 

 terminal inflorescences. One of those with 21 served 

 for the continuation of the experiment but all three had 

 exhibited correspondingly high numbers in their lateral 

 flowers. The fertilization in this year was therefore 

 sufficiently pure. 



This was not the case in 1897. The 34-rayed seed- 

 parent of that year was pollinated at first amongst all the 

 other plants, and later amongst the rest of the selected 

 ones which were however as many as 25 in number. It 

 set so little seed that it was impossible to rely solely on 

 the seed due to the later pollinations (i. e., the purest 

 seed) for next year's crop. The two maxima of the 

 curve of 1898 are therefore, at least to some extent, due 

 to mixed pollination (Fig. 32 under 1898). 



In 1898 I selected the seeds for the continuance of 

 the race in two periods on the chosen seed-parent after 

 having marked the flow^ers separately for them. The 

 first harvest was from flowers which had bloomed be- 

 fore the removal of the rest, the second from those which 

 had bloomed later. The latter must therefore have been 

 fertilized by the seven remaining seed-parents whose ter- 

 minal inflorescences, however, all had had more than 34 

 rays (the numbers were 35-36-37-38-39-40 and 46). 

 The two specimens were sown separately and their curves 

 determined ; but no essential difference between them 

 could be detected, either in their limits, or in their means, 

 or in their general shape. The seed-parent of 1899 with 

 66 rays and with the first 1-3 ligulate florets on its discs 

 (Fig. 33), belonged to the first series, the 67-rayed plant 

 shown in the table on page 180 for 1899, however, to 

 the second. 



In the summer of 1899, tov/ards the end of July, I 



