IRREGULAR PELORIA. 935 
seeds from the Linaria which reproduced the 
anomaly when sown in rich soil. Baron Melicog 
obtained similar results.’ Mr. Darwin’ raised sixteen 
seedling plants of a peloric Antirrhinwm, artificially fer- 
tilised by its own pollen, all of which were as perfectly 
peloric as the parent plant. On the other hand, the same 
observer alludes to the tendency that these peloric plants 
have to revert to the usual form, as shown by the fact that 
when the peloric flowers were crossed with pollen from 
flowers of the ordinary shape, and vice versd, not one 
of the seedlings, in either case, bore peloric flowers. 
Hence, says Mr. Darwin, there is in these flowers “a 
strong latent tendency to become peloric, and there is 
also a still greater tendency in all peloric plants to 
reacquire their normal irregular structure.” So that 
there are two opposed latent tendencies in the same 
plant. Asimilar remark has been made with reference 
to malformations in general by other observers. 
It would be very interesting if some competent 
naturalist would collect information as to whether any 
variations in degree of fertility exist in the three 
forms of flowers in Innaria, viz. the ordinary one- 
spurred form, which is intermediate between the spur- 
less and the five-spurred form. It must be remem- 
bered, however, that in the latter cases the stamens 
are often deficient. In the Composite, where there 
are regular flowers in the disc and irregular ones in 
the ray, sexual differences, as 1s well known, accompany 
the diversities in form. 
To Mr. Darwin the author is indebted for the com- 
munication of some flowers of Corydalis tuberosa (figs. 
124, 125), provided with two spurs of nearly equal size. 
To these flowers allusion is made in the work already 
quoted® in the following terms :—‘‘ Corydalis tuberosa 
properly has one of its two nectaries colourless, desti- 
tute of nectar, only half the size of the other, and 
Bull. Soc. Bot. France,’ vol. vi, 1859, p. 717. 
* * Variation of Anim, and Plants,’ ii, p. 70. 
3 Loe. cit., p. 59. 
