1896.] Variation after Birth. 21 



doubt, having impressed something of its stature and form 

 upon its seeds for resurrection of similar qualities in the follow- 

 ing year. All this variation must have been the result of strug- 

 gle for existence, for it is not conceivable that in less than two 

 square feet of soil there could have been other conditions suf- 

 ficiently diverse to have caused such marked unlikenesses ; 

 and I shall allow the plat to remain without defilement that I 

 may observe the conflict in the years to come, and I shall also 

 sow seeds from some of the unlike plants. From all these 

 facts, I am bound to think that physical environment and 

 struggle for life are both powerful causes of variation in plants 

 which are born equal. 



Still,the reader may say, like Weismann,that thesedifferences 

 were potentially present in the germ, that there was an inher- 

 ited tendency for the given red-root to grow three feet tall 

 when 85 other plants were grown alongside of it in twenty 

 inches square of soil. Then let us try plants which had no 

 germ plasm, that is, cuttings from maiden wood. A lot of cut- 

 tings were taken from one petunia plant, and these cuttings 

 were grown singly in pots in perfectly uniform prepared soil, 

 the pots being completely glazed with shellac and the bottoms 

 closed to prevent drainage. Then each pot was given a 

 weighed amount of different chemical fertilizer and supplied 

 with perfectly like weighed quantities of water. All weak or 

 unhealthy plants were thrown out, and a most painstaking 

 effort was made to select perfectly equal plants. But very 

 soon they were unequal. Those fed liberally on potash were 

 short, those given nitrogen were tall and lusty ; and the vari- 

 ations in floriferousness and maturity were remarkable. The 

 data of maturity and productiveness were as follows : 

 Phosphate of Sulphate of Phosphate of Check Phosphate of 



Potash. Potash. Soda. Ammonia. 



68 days 99 days 65 days 67 days 104 days 



23 J hlooms 18 blooms 27J blooms 26 J blooms 33 blooms 



Here then, is a variation of 39 days, or over a month in the 

 time of first bloom, and of an average of 15 flowers per plant 

 in asexual plants from the same stock, all of which started 

 equal and which were grown in perfectly uniform conditions, 

 save the one element of food. 



