CHAP. II. CKOSSED AND SELF-FERTILISED PLANTS. 35 



having grown vigorously, as was shown by their general ap- 

 pearance and from several of them never reaching the summits 

 of the rods. In Pot LT., one of the self-fertilised plants was for 

 a long time taller by two inches than its opponent, but was 

 ultimately beaten by it, so that all the crossed plants exceeded 

 their opponents in height. Of twenty-eight capsules produced 

 by the crossed plants fertilised by pollen from a distinct plant, 

 each contained on an average 4 '75 seeds; of twenty-seven self- 

 fertilised capsules on the self-fertilised plants, each contained 

 on an average 4 -47 seeds ; so that the proportion of seeds in tht 

 crossed and self-fertilised capsules was as 100 to 94. 



Some of the same seeds, from which the plants in the last 

 Table V. had been raised, were planted, after they had germi- 

 nated on damp sand, in a square tub, in which a large Brug- 

 mansia had long been growing. The soil was extremely poor 

 and full of roots ; six crossed seeds were planted in one corner, 

 and six self-fertilised seeds in the opposite corner. All the 

 seedlings from the latter soon died excepting one, and this grew 

 to the height of only li inch. Of the crossed plants three 

 survived, and they grew to the height of 2i inches, but were not 

 able to twine round a stick ; nevertheless, to my surprise, they 

 produced some small miserable flowers. The crossed plants 

 thus had a decided advantage over the self-fertilised plants 

 under this extremity of bad conditions. 



Crossed and self-fertilised Plants of the Fifth Genera tion These 

 were raised in the same manner as before, and when measured 

 gave the following results : 



TABLE VI. (Fifth Generation.") 



The average height of the six crossed plants is 82 -54 inches, 



D 2 



