During 1866 it was freely and legitimately
fertilised by illegitimate plants, as described under Number 22, and yielded an
average, from eight capsules, of 122.5 seeds, with a maximum of 149 and a
minimum of 84. Hence this plant exceeded the normal standard, producing no less
than 131 per cent of seeds.]
CLASS 6. ILLEGITIMATE PLANTS RAISED FROM MID-STYLED PARENTS FERTILISED WITH
POLLEN FROM THE SHORTEST STAMENS OF THE LONG-STYLED FORM.
I raised from this union twenty-five plants, which proved to be seventeen long-
styled and eight mid-styled, but not one short-styled. None of these plants were
in the least dwarfed. I examined, during the highly favourable season of 1866,
the pollen of four plants: in one mid-styled plant, some of the anthers of the
longest stamens were contabescent, but the pollen-grains in the other anthers
were mostly sound, as they were in all the anthers of the shortest stamens; in
two other mid-styled and in one long-styled plant many of the pollen-grains were
small and shrivelled; and in the latter plant as many as a fifth or sixth part
appeared to be in this state. I counted the seeds in five plants (Numbers 26 to
30), of which two were moderately sterile and three fully fertile.
[PLANT 26.
This mid-styled plant was freely and legitimately fertilised, during the rather
unfavourable year 1864, by numerous surrounding legitimate and illegitimate
plants.
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