18 Flower Colour and Characters of the Opium Poppy 



The pink colour. 



Where the culture contains Group II, JII and IV colours only, 

 whether singly or in combination, the plants with pink seed breed pure 

 for that character. If the parent flower has been protected the purity 

 is complete ; in those cases, however, where such protection is not given, 

 a few plants with blue seeds may occur among the offspring, indicating 

 a dominance of the blue colour in these natural crosses. 



The blue colour. 



Many of the cultures raised are pure with regard to this character, 

 while others contain both blue and pink seeded plants in the propor- 

 tion 3:1. 



Number of families Blue Pink 



5 368 124 



Expectation 3:1 369 128 



It follows from this that the blue testa colour is developed from 

 the pink by the action of one factor only. Where the offspring con- 

 tain plants having the Group I and V petal colours also, the ratio 

 9 Blue : 3 Pink : 4 White is necessarily obtained from which it follows 

 that a white seeded form which carries the factor for blueness must 

 exist. Confirmation of this conclusion by the synthesis of a blue seeded 

 plant from a cross between white and pink seeded parents has yet to be 

 effected. 



The Correlation between the Vegetative Period 

 AND THE Flower Colour. 



One case of complete correlation has already been dealt with, namely 

 that between the seed and eye colours. A second, and very marked, 

 one has already been referred to earlier in as far as it bears on the 

 interpretation of the counts which have been given for the flower colours 

 and will here be considered in greater detail. It is that correlation 

 which has been found to exist between the length of the vegetative 

 period and the flower colour. In the accompanying table are given a 

 few characteristic examples of such correlation taken from the simpler 

 cultures. From this table it follows that the presence of the factor 

 which develops the P colour from white, of that which develops the PP 

 or RB colour from purple (MP), and of that which develops the R (C) 

 colour from purple (PL) is in each case associated with a reduction in 

 the length of the vegetative period. While the observation gives ho 



