325 
Fig. 1. 
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 subsequently 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 drnw attention to 
the fad that the crosses were in all cases of the natiire N f / n F. 
