CHAP. II. FLOWERS ON SAME PLANT CROSSED. 

 TABLE XI. (Tenth Generation.') 



41 



The five crossed plants average 93 '7 inches, and the five self- 

 fertilised only 50-4, or as 100 to 54. This difference, however, 

 is so great that it must be looked at as in part accidental. The 

 six crossed plants (the diseased one here included) yielded spon- 

 taneously 101 capsules, and the six self-fertilised plants 88, 

 the latter being chiefly produced by one of the plants. But as 

 the diseased plant, which yielded hardly any seed, is here included, 

 the ratio of 101 to 88 does not fairly give the relative fertility 

 of the two lots. The stems of the six crossed plants looked so 

 much finer than those of the six self-fertilised plants, that after 

 the capsules had been gathered and most of the leaves had fallen 

 off, they were weighed. Those of the crossed plants weighed 

 2,693 grains, whilst those of the self-fertilised plants weighed 

 only 1,173 grains, or as 100 to 44; but as the diseased and 

 dwarfed crossed plant is here included, the superiority of the 

 former in weight was really greater. 



The Effects on the Offspring of crossing different Flowers 

 on the same Plant, instead of crossing distinct Individuals. 

 In all the foregoing experiments, seedlings from 

 flowers crossed by pollen from a distinct plant (though 

 in the later generations more or less closely related) 

 were put into competition with, and almost invariably 

 proved markedly superior in height to the offspring 

 from self-fertilised flowers. I wished, therefore, to 

 ascertain whether a cross between two flowers on the 

 same plant would give to the offspring any superiority 



