104 
hiheritance in the Foxglove 
separate (figs, ill, iv). When numerous flower-buds fuse a dense rosette may be 
formed by the petals, and tiie result is not pleasing. The peloric or crown-flower 
opens early, often before any of the normal flowers. After the crown-flower has 
faded, the main-axis usually grows through the centre of it, and may even produce 
;i second crown-flower (fig. vi) ; but in the case of the side-shoots the axis generally 
ends in an ovary and no further growth occurs (fig. v). 
If the peloric tendency is not so well-marked, the main-axis may be only 
slightly affected by the suppression of several internodes, and by the partial 
fusion of flower-buds, at a variable distance above the lowest normal flower of the 
axis. Sometimes a considerable number of internodes may be unduly shortened, 
so as to produce excessive crowding of flowers which do not actually fuse (fig. Vll), 
and frequently a strongly marked spiral bending of the axis occurs (fig. Vill). 
At other times the suppi'cssion of the internodes may occur only high up on 
the flowering axis close to where it normally ceases to grow (fig. ix). 
When the central axis is strongly peloric the side-axes are invariably so, and in 
all other cases the side-axes exhibit greater pelorism than the main-axis. 
Finally, the main-axis may be quite normal and show no peloric tendency, but 
the side-axes may still be strongly peloric. 
The last trace of pelorism in a plant is shown when only one or two of the 
weaker side-axes exhibit some slight sign of a peloric tendency. 
It is unfortunate that it has not been found possible to devise any practical 
method of measuring the intensity of pelorism, and therefore the jilants have been 
arranged in four grades. 
0 " grade = no peloric tendency. 
1° — 25° grade — those in which the central axis is non-peloric, but the side- 
axes exhibit some peloric tendency. 
26° — 50° grade = main-axis non-peloric, but side-axes may reach full pelorism. 
51° — 75° grade = main-axis partially peloric, side-axes fully so. 
76' — 100' grade = plants ranging to complete pelorism in all axes. 
In the generations produced from 1914 — 19 there were in all 128 fertilisa- 
tions of different classes of individuals, recessive (peloric), homozygous dominant 
(non-peloric) and heterozygous dominant (non-peloric) plants, and families were 
raised. In the table on p. 105 the experimental and theoretical results are 
compared. The fertilisations of the classes DD x DD, RR x RR, and DR x DR 
include both selfing and crossing. The sum totals of the experimental and 
theoretical results are remarkably close ; being, crowned, 1019 experimental and 
1013 theoretical; non-crowned, 1169 experimental and 1175 theoretical. 
It must be noted here that a plant was recorded as " peloric " or " crowned " if 
it exhibited the least tendency towards pelorism in any of the axes. Taking all 
the classes or groups together it may be said that the inheritance of the quality of 
pelorism is typically Mendelian. The group RR x RR should include no non- 
crowned offspring, and the 7 which occurred were obtained by gradual selection. 
