242 Nou-Isolablc Races. 



iials, whicli gave a poorer harvest, gave rise to the larg- 

 est number of abnormals amongst their offspring. 



I have repeated the same experiment with the harvest 

 of 1899, with the seeds of four separate seed-parents, but 

 as I did not know their capacity for producing abnormals 

 in advance, the difference was not so striking. The large 

 seeds gave rise to 2-4%, the small ones to 3-1 3 7^ abnor- 

 mals. Altogether seedlings from 2758 large and from 

 617 small seeds were examined. 



Two questions present themselves in connection with 

 the interpretation of these experiments: (1) Can the 

 position in which the small seeds are chiefly produced 

 on the plant, be determined?-^ (2) Are the germs of the 

 small seeds perhaps the better nourished ones ; is there, 

 for instance, just as much nutriment brought to them 

 as to the large seeds, but must they, for want of room 

 or for other reasons, utilize it in some other way? 



I recommend these problems for further study, and 

 may perhaps in the mean time record a few facts bear- 

 ing on them wdiich I have observed. In the crimson 

 clover, monstrosities occur much more frequentl}' among 

 the seedlings from small tlian among those from large 

 seeds. The latter are almost all perfectly normal. The 

 small seeds often produce plants with supernumerary 

 cotyledons, or with two or more primary leaves (instead 

 of one) or with divided peduncles, symphyses in the 

 leaves and other malformations (Fig. 48). Unfortunately 

 it is often difficult to keep these individuals alive and to 

 bring them to flower. 



Let us now cast a final glance over the whole course 

 of the experiment. 



^ Tn stocks. Jiccordin.f^ to Chate, Culture dcs Giroflccs, the seeds 

 which produce double-flowered plants arise chiefl\- from the lower 

 half of the pods of the strongest racemes of the plant. 



