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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XL 



(1) In the variation in respect to number of seeds per capsule 

 Nelumbium lideum follows very closely the normal or Gaussian 

 law of the distribution of errors. 



(2) Place constants are given for the designated character in 

 the form unit of Nelumbium growing in Sandusky Bay. 



(3) From the fact that the frequency distribution of the capsules 

 in respect to seed number is symmetrical about the mean it follows 

 that one half of the whole number of capsules bears 14 percent 

 more of the total number of seeds available for a new generation 

 than does the other half of the capsules. 



Zoological Laboratory 



University of Pennsylvania 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



