BOTANICAL SUBJECTS. 61 



brought about by selection. This result of fusion is particularly- 

 inheritable in the tomato, as I suspect it is in the corolla of the 

 auricula. Experiments on the tomato ought to yield interesting 

 results, for not only do its ovaries readily fuse, but the number of 

 carpels are readily reduced to five, three, and two. 



I have before me a bunch of " forget-me-nots." Almost every 

 flower open is 3i fusion of two flowers. It is rare to find a normal one 

 with five i^etals. The rule is seven, eight, nine, and sometimes ten 

 petals, with a corresponding number of stamens and sepals ; the 

 carpels are sometimes a fusion of two ovaries and sometimes 

 apparently only one ovary is present. The shape of the flower has 

 consequently changed from a circular to an oval one. This 

 fusion is evidently inlieritahle in this variety. 



At the meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural Society on the 

 12th May 1891, I saw a yellow tulip ticketed " Sylvestris," which 

 evidently was the fusion of two flowers. It had five outer petals, 

 five inner ones alternating with the former, nine stamens, two of 

 which had their filaments fused into a broad one, and an ovary 

 consisting of four carpels, instead of the usual three. 



Another tulip, of the bizarre variety, had seven petals, nine 

 stamens, and four stigmas. This was evidently a fusion of two 

 flowers. What is curious in these fusions is that petals aggregate 

 with petals, stamens with stamens, and carpels with carpels. One 

 would expect a confusion of parts. This may sometimes occur in 

 the first instance, but the seedlings of such fusions* would tend to 

 have their parts re-arranged, so that different parts of the flower 

 become associated with their like, and thus form whorls consisting 

 of more units than each of their component flowers. Anemone 

 decapetala may only be the result of fusion of two pentapetalous 

 anemones. 



On another occasion I saw a daffodil with eight petals and a 

 large crown, consisting of more than six lobes and eight stamens. 

 This was evidently a fusion of two flowers, and inlieritahle^ as the 

 owner told me he had many of them. 



I do not think growers sufficiently ajDpreciate these so-called 

 monstrous forms. There may be a lingering notion in their minds 

 that they are monsterSy and therefore unholy. Be it said once for 



* When I say seedlings, I include any possible seedling, resulting from 

 the transfer of pollen of these to other stigmas. 



