CHAT. III. CROSSED AND SELF-FERTILISED PLANTS. 67 



from eight of the capsules on the crossed plants weighed 65 

 grain, whilst those from eight of the capsules on the self-fer- 

 tilised plants weighed only -22 grain; or as 100 to ?4. 



The crossed plants in the above three pots, as in almost all 

 the previous experiments, flowered before the self-fertilised. 

 This occurred even in the third pot in which the crossed seeds 

 were sown four days after the self-fertilised seeds. 



Lastly, seeds of both lots were sown on opposite sides of a 

 large pot in which a Fuchsia had long been growing, so that the 

 earth was full of roots. Both lots grew miserably ; but the 

 crossed seedlings had an advantage at all times, and ultimately 

 attained to a height of 3i inches, whilst the self-fertilised seed- 

 lings never exceeded 1 inch. The several foregoing experiments 

 prove in a decisive manner the superiority in constitutional 

 vigour of the crossed over the self-fertilised plants. 



In the three generations now described and taken together, the 

 average height of the ten tallest crossed plants was 8*19 inches, 

 and that of the ten tallest self-fertilised plants 5 -29 inches (the 

 plants having been grown in small pots), or as 100 to 65. 



In the next or fourth self-fertilised generation, several plants 

 of a new and tall variety appeared, which increased in the 

 later self-fertilised generations, owing to its great self-fertility, 

 to the complete exclusion of the original kinds. The same 

 variety also appeared amongst the crossed plants, but as it was 

 not at first regarded with any particular attention, I know 

 not how far it was used for raising the intercrossed plants ; and 

 in the later crossed generations it was rarely present. Owing to 

 the appearance of this tall variety, the comparison of the crossed 

 and self-fertilised plants of the fifth and succeeding generations 

 was rendered unfair, as all the self-fertilised and only a few or 

 none of the crossed plants consisted of it. Nevertheless, the 

 results of the later experiments are in some respects well worth 

 giving. 



Crossed and self-fertilised Plants of the Fourth Generation. Seed* 

 of the two kinds, produced in the usual way from the two sets of 

 plants of the third generation, were sown on opposite sides of 

 two pots (I. and II.); but the seedlings were not thinned 

 enough and did not grow well. Many of the self-fertilised 

 plants, especially in one of the pots, consisted of the new and 

 tall variety above referred to, which bore large and almost white 

 flowers marked with crimson blotches. I will call it the 

 White variety. I believe that it first appeared an ongst both the 



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