CHAP. II. THE COMMON OXLIP. 69 



smaller flowers, of a paler colour, almost like those of 

 the primrose ; the scapes were at first single-flowered, 

 but later in the season a tall thick scape, bearing many 

 flowers, like that of the parent oxlip, was thrown up. 

 The third plant likewise produced at first only single- 

 flowered scapes, with the flowers rather small and of a 

 darker yellow ; but it perished early. The second 

 plant also died in September; and the first plant, 

 though all three grew under very favourable con- 

 ditions, looked very sickly. Hence we may infer that 

 seedlings from self-fertilised oxlips would hardly be 

 able to exist in a state of nature. I was surprised to 

 find that all the pollen-grains in the first of these seed- 

 ling oxlips appeared sound ; and in the second only a 

 moderate number were bad. These two plants, however, 

 had not the power of producing a proper number of 

 seeds ; for though left uncovered and surrounded by 

 pure primroses and cowslips, the capsules were esti- 

 mated to include an average of only from fifteen to 

 twenty seeds. 



From having many experiments in hand, I did not 

 sow the seed obtained by crossing both forms of the 

 primrose and cowslip with both forms of the oxlip, 

 which I now regret; but I ascertained an interest- 

 ing point, namely, the character of the offspring 

 from oxlips growing in a state of nature near both 

 primroses and cowslips. The oxlips were the same 

 plants which, after their seeds had been collected, were 

 transplanted and experimented on. From the seeds 

 thus obtained eight plants were raised, which, when 

 they flowered, might have been mistaken for pure 

 primroses-; but on close comparison the eye in the 

 centre of the corolla was seen to be of a darker yellow, 

 and the peduncles more elongated. As the season ad- 

 vanced, one of these plants threw up two naked scapes, 



