170 BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN MEMOIRS 



the line between &quot;normal,&quot; and &quot;abnormal&quot; as applied to the dis- : 

 tinction between plants which have cotyledons inserted on the same; 

 level and those which have one of the pair sensibly higher on the axis 

 than the other. &quot;Slightly but distinctly separated,&quot; has been the 

 descriptive term used in our classification schedules. The cotyledons 

 range in position from those which are just perceptibly not inserted ofl| 

 the same level to those which are perhaps two or three or four milli 

 meters apart. So imperceptible is the line of distinction between nor 

 mal and abnormal plants that in the classification of the seedlings 

 frequent discussions arose concerning the normality or abnormality of&quot; 

 individual plants. 



In the present paper I am considering only the simplest type of 

 abnormality. This course has been followed for two reasons. 



First, the proof of the existence of a physiological differentiation 

 associated with a very slight structural variation is of far greater in 

 terest than the demonstration of measurable physiological differentia 

 tion associated with great morphological variation. Second, other 

 types of abnormality with which I have dealt are so difficult to secure 

 in satisfactorily large series that the number of samples as yet avail 

 able is not sufficient to justify detailed comparisons between the 

 different types of abnormality. I hope ultimately to be able to meet 

 these difficulties. For the present the one type of structural devia 

 tion dealt with serves to illustrate the method and one phase of the 

 results of the investigations. 



PRESENTATION OF DATA 



Consider first of all the green weight of the organs selected. 



The average green weight of the primordial and of the first com-: 

 pound leaves for plants which are normal except for slight separation i 

 of their cotyledons is shown in Table I. 



With one single exception, the average weight of the primordial 

 leaves of the normal plants is higher than that of the abnormal plants. 

 In the single exception to the rule, the difference is small in amount. 

 The average weight of the first compound leaf produced by abnormal 

 plants of this class is in every case but one lower than the weight 

 produced by the sensibly normal individuals. The exception to the 

 rule is the same sample as in the case of the primordial leaves. 



The average weight of primordial leaf tissue in the abnormal plants 

 is -5873, the average weight for normal plants is .6680, and the average 

 difference .0807. The differences in mean weights range in the 

 individual samples from +.0074 to .1286. For the first compound 

 leaf of the same plants the average weight of the tissues from abnorma 

 individuals is .4797, from a normal plant it is .5610, while the average. 



