THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEED UPON THE SIZE OF THE 
FRUIT IN STAPHYLEA. I 
J. ARTHUR HARRIS 
(WITH FOUR FIGURES) 
A previous paper in this journal' reviewed the chief literature 
bearing on the theory that the size attained by a fruit is to some 
extent determined by a stimulus exerted by the developing seed. 
The purpose of the present contribution is to consider the data from 
two series comprising 3277 fruits of Staphylea, collected in a manner 
to permit of carrying {the analysis somewhat farther than was 
possible with the Cercis material. 
I. Nature of the characters considered 
The fruit of Staphylea trifolia is familiar to botanists as a three- 
lobed, three-celled, membranaceous, inflated pod, producing from 
o to 4 bony seeds in each locule. Unfortunately it is hardly of the 
form one would select especially for an investigation of the size. 
Its considerable irregularity renders measurement difficult, and its 
lightness makes weighing tedious. Its use in the present study is 
in part a consequence of the ease with which the necessary data 
could be obtained in connection with other studies of fertility and 
fecundity in the species, and in part a result of special advantages 
which will be apparent to the reader later. 
In a fruit whose shape and texture precludes any very accurate 
determination of size, the thing to be done is to take measurements 
on a scale coarse enough that minor irregularities will not be of 
much account. Having done this, we should not attach great 
importance to the exact values of the calculated constants, but 
look at them as merely rough approximations. Consistent results 
from a number of individual series will strengthen our confidence 
in the soundness of our conclusions, but if the relationships are of 
a very slight intensity, we should expect, for reasons well known 
«Harris, J. Artuur, On the relationship between the length of the pod and 
fertility and fecundity in Cercis. Bot. Gaz. 50:117-127. 1910. 
Botanical Gazette, vol. 53] [204 
