Monstrosities 407 



trived to isolate three groups of plants by the 

 use of parchment bags, covering them alter- 

 nately, so the flowers of only one group were 

 accessible to insects at a time. I made three 

 groups, because the atavists show two different 

 types. Some specimens have decussate stems, 

 others bear all their leaves in whorls of three, 

 but in respect to the hereditary tendency of the 

 twisting character this difference does not seem 

 to be of any importance. 



In this way I got three lots of seeds and sowed 

 enough of them to have three groups of plants 

 each containing about 150 - 200 well developed 

 stems. Among these I counted the twisted indi- 

 viduals, and found nearly the same numbers for 

 all three. The twisted parents gave as many 

 as 41^ twisted children, but the decussate ata- 

 vists gave even somewhat more, viz., 44^, while 

 the ternate specimens gave 37^. Obviously the 

 divergencies between these figures are too slight 

 to be dwelt upon, but the fact that the atavists 

 are as true or nearly as true inheritors of the 

 twisted race as the best selected individuals is 

 clearly proved by this experience. 



It is evident that here we have a double race, 

 including two types, which may be combined in 

 different degrees. These combinations deter- 

 mine a wide range of changes in the stature of 

 the plants, and it seems hardly right to use the 



