Laws of Fluctuations 723 



branches. The same holds good for the number 

 of ray-florets in the flower-heads of the com- 

 posites, even for the number of stigmas on the 

 ovaries of the poppies, which on weak branches 

 may be reduced to as few as three or four. 

 Many other instances could be given. 



One of the best authenticated cases is the de- 

 pendency of partial fluctuation on the season 

 and on the weather. Flowers decline when the 

 season comes to an end, become smaller and less 

 brightly colored. The number of ray-florets in 

 the flower-heads is seen to decrease towards the 

 fall. Extremes become rarer, and often the 

 deviations from the average seem to nearly dis- 

 appear. Double flowers comply with this rule 

 very closely, and many other cases will easily 

 occur to any student of nature. 



Of course, the relation to nourishment is dif- 

 ferent for individual and partial fluctuations. 

 Concerning the first, the period of development 

 of the germ within the seed is decisive. Even 

 the sexual cells may be in widely different condi- 

 tions at the moment of fusion, and perhaps this 

 state of the sexual cells includes the whole mat- 

 ter of the decision for the average characters of 

 the new individual. Partial fluctuation com- 

 mences as soon as the leaves and buds begin to 

 form, and all later changes in nutrition can 

 only affect their size and form. All leaves, 



