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XXXVI 



THE HYBEIDISATION OF PLANTS. 



307 



The first accurate experiments in illustration of this curious 



subject appear to have 



Kolreuter 



N. 



from two species of tobacco, Nicotiana 



stem 



N. 



N. 



paniculata. The seed ripened, and 

 produced a hybrid which was intermediate between the two 

 parents, and which, like all the hybrids which this botanist 

 brought up, had imperfect stamens. He afterwards impreg- 

 nated this hybrid with the pollen of N. paniculata. 



more 



and 

 This 



he continued through several generations, until, by due per- 



Nicotiana 



Nicotiana 



The plan of crossing adopted, was the cutting off of the 

 anthers of the plant intended for fructification before they 

 had shed pollen, ancl then laying on foreign pollen upon the 

 stigma. The same experiment has since been repeated with 

 success by Wiegmann, who found that he could bring back 

 the hybrids to the exact likeness of either parent, by crossing 

 them a sufficient number of times, with individuals of one of 

 the pure stocks. 



The blending of the characters of the parent stocks in 

 many other of Wiegmann's experiments, was complete • \he 

 colour and shape of the leaves and flowers, and even the 

 scent, being intermediate, as in the offspring of the two 

 species of verbascum. An intermarriage, also, between the 

 common onion and the leek {Allium cepa and ^.^omm) gave 

 a mule plant, which, in the character of its leaves and flowers 

 approached most nearly to the garden onion, but had the 

 elongated bulbous root and smell of the leek 



The same botanist remarks, that vegetable hybrids when 



til tret ^^^^^^^ "^^^ '^^^^^^^^^ ^^« *^^ " 



{ri!ul !': .^ ^^-^,^«^! -i*^ «- of the original stocks 



mule 



tinning to exhibit the character of a full hybrid. 



sometimes 



X 2 



.^ 



