THE SELF-FERTILIZATION OF PLANTS. 381 



On the other hand, as Darwin says (p. 144, Vol. ii, 

 Animals and Plants, &c.) : 



" The benefit from a cross, even when there has not 

 been any very close-interbreeding, is almost invariably 

 at once conspicuous." 



In the chapters, on Pigeons and Fowls, it will be 

 remembered, that Darwin says, what he repeats, and 

 reiterates in one form, or another, again and again, 

 throughout his works; that: 



"The more distinct the breeds, that are crossed, the 

 more fertile, the mongrel offspring." Below, he notices 

 the exceptional excellence of mongrel plants '"of 

 which, the parents were the two most dissimilar varie- 

 ties, I could select.' " 



It will be noticed, that the gardener erroneously 

 terms mongrels, "hybrids;" a fault which Darwin 

 corrects. The other term, "hybridizations," Darwin 

 doubtless thought it needless to rectify. 



"With respect to the benefit, derived from crossing 

 distinct varieties" (Vol. ii, p. 160, Animals and Plants, 

 &c), "plenty of evidence has been published; Sageret 

 speaks, in strong terms, of the vigor of melons raised 

 by crossing different varieties, and adds, that they are 

 more easily fertilized than common melons, and pro- 

 duce numerous good seed. Here follows the evidence 

 of an English gardener. 'I have, this summer, met 

 with better success, in my cultivation of melons, in an 

 unprotected state, from the seeds of hybrids (2. e., mon- 

 grels), obtained by cross-impregnation, than with old 

 varieties. The offspring of these different hybridiza- 

 tions (?) (one, more especially, of which the parents 

 were the two .most dissimilar (!) varieties I could select), 

 each yielded more ample and finer produce than any- 

 33 



