325 



p. 15) exhibiting striking peculiarities in the form of its flowers. 

 These were small and much deformed (cf. Fig. 1). The Standard 



failed to become ele- 

 vated, the keel was 

 cleft distally so that the 

 anthers were partially 

 protruded, while the 

 Stigma projected far 

 beyond the petals and 

 was carried on in the 

 line of the carpels in- 

 stead of being abruptly 

 bent at right angles 

 to them as in the nor- 

 mal flower. At the 

 time of its discovery 

 the plant was dubbed 

 „the cretin" in refe- 

 rence to the open 

 „mouth" and the pro- 

 truding „tongue" represented by the projecting style, and by 

 this term we shall snbsequently refer to it. The fact that the style 

 protrudes is due to the malformation of the keel which is unable 

 to curve the growing style and cause it to assume its natural 

 position. Füller experience of these cretins has shewn us that the 

 petals may sometimes be nearly as large as in normal flowers, 

 and that the Standard may sometimes become elevated in the 

 normal way (cf. Fig. 2). The size of the flower may vary 

 considerably on the some plant, and hitherto where the larger 

 form of flower has occurred the plant has also borne others more 

 nearly resembling the original type. The degree to which the 

 keel is cleft also shews some Variation, but in all cases these 

 cretins have the peculiar and characteristic straight stigma. 



The original cretin was found in 1907 and was used as 

 the pollen parent to fertilise various sterile sweet peas. The Fi 

 plants, which flowered in 1908, were all indistinguishable from 

 normal sweet peas. The normal form of flower (N) was completely 

 dominant to the cretin (n), and fertility (F) of the anthers was 

 of course dominant to sterility (f). We may draw attention to 

 the fact that the crosses were in all cases of the nature N f X n F, 



