Chap. 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 tho 

 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 3 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 samo 

 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. Seeds 

 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 art ongst both the 



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