200 ILLEGITIMATE OFFSPRING OF CHAP. V. 



1866 it was freely and legitimately fertilised by other ille- 

 gitimate plants belonging to the present and the following 

 class, both of which include many highly fertile plants. 

 Under these circumstances it yielded from eight capsules 

 an average of 100.5 seeds, with a maximum of 123 and a 

 minimum of 86 ; so that it produced 121 per cent, of seeds 

 in comparison with the normal standard. During 1864 it 

 was allowed to be freely and legitimately fertilised by 

 legitimate and illegitimate plants, and yielded an average, 

 from eight capsules, of 104.2 seeds, with a maximum of 

 125 and a minimum of 90; consequently it exceeded the 

 normal standard, producing 125 per cent, of seeds. In this 

 case, as in some previous cases, pollen from legitimate 

 plants added in a small degree to the fertility of the plant ; 

 and the fertility would, perhaps, have been still greater had 

 not the summer of 1864 been very hot and certainly unfa- 

 vourable to some of the plants of Lythrum. 



Plant 28. This short-styled plant produced perfectly 

 sound pollen. During 1866 it was freely and legitimately 

 fertilised by the other illegitimate plants specified under 

 the last experiment, and eight capsules yielded an average 

 of 113.5 seeds, with a maximum of 123 and a minimum 

 of 93. Hence this plant exceeded the normal standard, 

 producing no less than 136 per cent, of seeds. 



Plant 24. This long-styled plant produced pollen which 

 seemed under the microscope sound ; but some of the grains 

 did not swell when placed in water. During 1864 it was 

 legitmately fertilised by legitimate and illegitimate plants 

 in the same manner as Plant 22, but yielded an average, 

 from ten capsules, of only 55 seeds, with a maximum of 

 88 and a minimum of 24, thus attaining 59 per cent, of 

 the normal fertility. This low degree of fertility, I pre- 

 sume, was owing to the unfavourable season; for during 

 1866, when legitimately fertilised by illegitimate plants in 

 the manner described under No. 22, it yielded an average, 

 from eight capsules, of 82 seeds, with a maximum of 120 

 and a minimum of 67, thus producing 88 per cent, of the 

 normal number of seeds. 



Plant 25. The pollen of this long-styled plant contained 

 a moderate number of poor and shrivelled grains ; and this 

 is a surprising circumstance, as it yielded an extraordinary 

 number of seeds. During 1866 it was freely and legiti- 



