of Variation in the Corolla of Veronica Buxbaumii. 79 



there does not appear to be any probability that because in a 

 flower one or more whorls shew an abnormal division, the repro- 

 ductive elements carried by that flower should produce individuals 

 more abnormal than those proceeding from normally divided flowers 

 on the same plant. 



In the following experiments, which were entirely carried out 

 by Miss Pertz, the evidence, though scanty, goes on the whole 

 to shew that there is, at all events in the case investigated, no 

 well marked difference between the offspring of normal and 

 abnormal flowers. 



Amongst plants raised from seed taken out of the same self- 

 fertilised capsule great diversity of variability was constantly 

 manifested, but there was no indication that families of plants 

 raised from capsules formed by self-fertilisation of abnormal 

 flowers in general shewed either greater variability or greater 

 percentage of any one abnormal form than families similarly 

 raised from normal flowers on the same plant. On the contrary 

 the evidence tends to shew that the self-fertilised offspring of 

 normal and abnormal flowers on the whole conform to an equal 

 degree with the general characteristics of the parent plant, or 

 more strictly of the strain or Race to which the parent belonged. 

 In the course of the work a few collateral points of some interest 

 were made out. 



The forms of corolla most frequently occurring are as follows. 



1. Normal flowers (Fig. 1). These are the ordinary flowers 

 characteristic of the genus. The corolla consists of 4 petals. Of 

 these one is posterior, one anterior, and two lateral. The pos- 

 terior petal is wide and of a deep blue colour. Opposite to it 

 is the narrower anterior petal, of a pale bluish-white colour. The 

 lateral petals are of about the same size as the posterior, but in 

 intensity of colour they are intermediate between the posterior 

 and anterior petals. 



Generally speaking these normal flowers form 80 — 90 per 

 cent, of the whole but, as may be seen in the tables, they may 

 on particular plants form a much higher or a much lower per- 

 centage than this. 



2. Corolla with two anterior petals (Fig. 3). These corollas 

 possess one posterior and two lateral petals like the normal, but 

 differ in having the anterior petal represented by two petals. 

 These two petals are like the normal anterior petal in form and 

 colour. Like the normal also they are small petals but not 

 unfrequently they are somewhat unequal in size. 



