210 Observation of the Origin of Varieties. 



results obtained in the years 1886-1893. They com- 

 prise four generations, each of which produced only 

 one or two peloric flowers amongst thousands of normal 

 ones. The anomaly, therefore, seems to recur every 

 year and is obviously due to the existence of some her- 

 itable semi-latent potentiality which only very seldom 

 becomes active. 



This result of the experiment supports the conclu- 

 sion based on the repeated occurrence of isolated peloric 

 flowers in nature. Linaria vulgaris hemipeloria is thereby 

 shown to be a heritable form. The question whether 

 it is identical with Linaria vulgaris itself, or constitutes 

 a variety or a race of this, cannot be answered for the 

 present. From it my L. vulgaris peloria arose, as I shall 

 now show. 



In order to make this part of my experiment more 

 easily intelligible I shall first describe it in the form of a 

 pedigree. This contains the four generations already 

 dealt with, and two further ones of the Hemipeloria 

 (1-6), together with the first, second, and third genera- 

 tions of wholly peloric plants (I-III). The meanings 

 of the abbreviations are : 



h and H: Linaria vulgaris hemipeloria. 



p: " ** peloria, 1st generation. 



P: '• " " 2d and 3d generations. 



Wherever necessary the number of plants is prefixed 

 to these letters either in absolute numbers or in percent- 

 ages. For the fifth and sixth generation I have, as will 

 be seen, made repeated sowings in various years. The 

 sign (-) means that the examples in question were the 

 same as in the previous year, and bore seed a second 

 time. Finally I have denoted by H the two plants of 

 1893 which in their second year produced the seed from 



