The plot _b_ was sown by way of comparison, and we can only regret that no plot of good swede seed was sown with the same object, and we must, therefore, compare with a piece of swedes in an adjoining field. The following are the tabulated results:— TABLE OF RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS. lb. oz. Plot _a_. 75 roots, forming the crop } from seed of the malformed } 7 4 parsnip (fig. 8) weighed in all } Plot _b_. 63 roots forming the crop } 14 0 from seed of good Student parsnips } Plot _c_. 70 roots of swedes from } seed of malformed plant (fig. 10.) } 19 8 70 roots from a row in the } field, at a distance of about 30 } 35 0 yards } The roots from plot _a_ may be described as small, though not so much fingered-and-toed as we had expected; still there was only about half the crop when compared with plot _b_, which latter, indeed, was only small in weight, which may be accounted for from being grown without manure. During their progress of growth the difference was very perceptible—the small leaves of _a_ contrasting most unfavourably with the broader, brighter coloured ones of _b_. As regards the swedes, they were indeed a very poor crop, presenting all the evils of degeneracy—neckiness, for which it will be seen that their parent was distinguished—want of a bulboid form; none of the 70 roots being better than a thin tap-root, and these were forked, shapeless, and fingered-and-toed in endless variety. Their spindle-shaped roots were quite remarkable, and they were the rule, although in good seed, however bad the soil, they would have been the exception. Those in the field hard by were bulboid, and averaged half a pound each—no great weight, as the land in which they were grown is only second-rate. They, however, were grown with manure, to which, of course, much of the difference is due, and yet not so much as may fairly be imputed to the difference in seed. From these experiments we conclude:— 1st. That a degenerate stock will, as a rule, result from the employment of degenerate or badly-grown seed. 2nd. That besides ugly, malformed roots, degenerated seed does not produce nearly the weight of crop of good seed, under the same circumstances of growth. 3rd. That by means of selection we may produce roots that are well-shaped, and have the capabilities of affording the best crop. 4th. That by designedly selecting malformed degenerate roots for seeding, we may produce a seed that will result in as great or greater degeneracy. “That these are important conclusions”—we quote from the _Agricultural Gazette_—“few will be disposed to deny. They have most interesting bearings on the subject of vegetable physiology, and consequently should be studied by the farmer.”