10 Harris, Observations oii the Physiology ofSeed Development in Slaphylea. 



Although iieither o nor s seem to be very dependent upou 

 the nuraber of fniits borne on the iiiflorescence, it is conceivable 

 that the propoition of the oviiles which develop into seeds may 

 show a- somewhat more sensible depeudence lipon the number of 

 fruits among- which available plastic material must be divided. To 

 determine this point we simply classify the fruits according to the 

 number produced on their inflorescence, compute the total number 

 of ovules formed and the total number which develop to maturity, 

 and calcnlate the ratio of the number of ovules formed to the 

 number of seeds developing. This is the coefficient of fecundity.') 



Combining the collections for the three years to avoid the 

 extreme irregularity due to low frequencies of the larger in- 

 tlorescences. we have these results: 



Number 



1 

 per ' 



Total Ovules 



Total Seeds 



C 



oeflicient 



Inflorescence 









ot 



i ecuridity 



1 







2812G 



3572 





. 1270 



2 







39713 



4371 





. 1101 



3 







46254 



4472 





.0967 



4 







35848 



3530 





. 0985 



5 







19174 



1776 





. 0926 



6 







10822 



1040 





.0961 



7 







G243 



712 





. 1140 



8 







3131 



297 





. 0949 



. 0928 



Totais 189923 19827 . 1044 



Fruits which occur alone, or with only one other, on an in- 

 florescence seem to be slightly more fecund than those in con- 

 currencc with a number of others. 



There is, therefore, a slight relationship between the number 

 of fruits per inflorescence and the proportional number of seeds 

 developing ])er locule, and of such a nature that as the number 

 of fruits per inflorescence increases, the relative number of seeds 

 developing decreases. Physiologists would probably have predicted 

 this, but the inten sity of the relationship is lower than would 

 generally have been expected. 



in. Position of pods inflorescence and fertility and fecundity. 



The Position of a fruit on the inflorescence axis might be 

 considered of significance in determining the number of seeds which 

 reach maturity. 



Data for the correlation between the position of the pod on 

 the inflorescence and the number of seeds developing per locule 



1) See Biometrika. Vol. VII. 1910. p. 309—310. 



