CHAP.V. LUPINUS LUTEUS. 147 



XIV. LEGUMINOS^E. 



In this family I experimented on the following six 

 genera, Lupinus, Phaseolus, Lathyrus, Pisum, Saro- 

 thamnus, and Ononis. 



LUPINUS LUTKUS.* 



A few flowers were crossed with pollen from a distinct plant 

 but owing to the unfavourable season only two crossed seeds 

 were produced. Nine seeds were saved from flowers spon- 

 taneously self-fertilised under a net, on the same plant which 

 yielded the two crossed seeds. One of these crossed seeds was 

 sown in a pot with two self-fertilised seeds on the opposite side ; 

 the latter came up between two and three days before the crossed 

 seed. The second crossed seed was sown in like manner with 

 two self-fertilised seeds on the opposite side ; these latter also came 

 up about a day before the crossed one. In both pots, therefore, 

 the crossed seedlings from germinating later, were at first com- 

 pletely beaten by the self -fertilised ; nevertheless, this state of 

 tilings was afterwards completely reversed. The seeds were 

 sown late in the autumn, and the pots, which were much too 

 small, were kept in the greenhouse. The plants in consequence 

 grew badly, and the self-fertilised suflered most in both pots. 

 The two crossed plants when in flower during the following spring 

 were 9 inches in height ; one of the self-fertilised plants was 

 8, and the three others only 3 inches in height, being thus 

 mere dwarfs. The two crossed plants produced thirteen pods, 

 whilst the four self-fertilised plants produced only a single 

 one. Some other self-fertilised plants which had been raised 

 separately in larger pots produced several spontaneously self- 

 fertilised pods under a net, and seeds from these were used in the 

 following experiment. 



Crossed and self -fertilised Plants of the Second Generation. The 



* The structure of the flowers (' Nature,' 1872, p. 499) that 



of this plant, and their manner of " there is a cavity at the back and 



fertilisation, have been described base of the vexillum, in which I 



by H. Muller, * Befruchtung,' &c. have not been able to find nectar, 



p. 243. The flowers do not But the bees, which constantly 



secrete free nectar, and bees gen- visit these flowers, certainly go to 



erally visit them for their pollen. this cavity for what they want, 



Mr. Fairer, however, remarks and not to the staminal tube." 



L 2 



