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THE AMEBIC AN NATURALIST [Vol. LIII 



tion of Sageret, had any conception of the idea of unit 

 characters operating as such, and capable of being ana- 

 lyzed separately. The then prevalent idea was one of 

 "potency" and "pre-potency," in the case of the hybrid 

 types that Gartner called "decided," i. e., in which the 

 dominance of the one or the other parent was plainly evi- 

 dent. A species in a cross was supposed to function as a 

 whole as such. An idea of this older point of view is 

 obtained from the following: 



Thus, just !is there are species in a natural g-enus, which possess a 

 prepotent fertilizing power upon several other species of their genus, so 

 there are also species, which exert upon several others such a typical 



a nature that their operation in all combinations is to be recognized by 

 a character in common. Both of these forces, a^e, however of different 

 kinds, and follow different laws (p. 289). 



Gartner did not regard Sageret 's case of segregation 

 of characters to be the normal result of hybrid fertiliza- 

 tion. While it is true that Gartner recognized in a cer- 

 tain sense the fact that parental characters often behave 

 in a more or less unitary manner, he was led by the 

 nature of his mind, as well as by the results of his obser- 

 vations, to take a synthetic rather than an analytical view 

 of the hybrid organism. 



hybrids from the elements and characters of the parents, is as important 

 for plant physiology as for systematic botany (p. 25). and further — 

 The laws of hybrid types orient themselves not toward the individual 

 organs of plants, — do not apply to a single part, e. g., stems, leaves, etc., 



which determine the types of hybrids, must therefore be investigated and 

 compared in their totality, and in their mutual intei-relationship. For 

 the most part, the individuality of a hybrid expresses itself in its en- 

 tire habit, but in this respect, the flower above other parts of the plant, 

 is most frequently -muX ]>lainly distinguished (p. 251). 



However, ( J:irtiiei-"> most fundamental view upon the 

 question whether the plant as a whole, or its individual 

 characters considered as such, determine the nature of 

 the hybrid offspring, is expressed in the following clear 



