True hybrids between species may arise in quite the same way, and since
it is obviously impossible to attribute them to an innate tendency to
reversion, they afford an absolutely irrefutable proof of the assertion
that pollen is often brought by insects from one lot of plants to
another. In this way I obtained a hybrid between the common Jacob's
ladder and the allied species _Polemonium dissectum_. With a distance of
100 meters between them I had two hybrid seeds among a hundred of pure
ones. At a similar distance pollen was carried over from the wild
radish, _Raphanus Raphanistrum_, to the allied _Raphanus caudatus_, and
I observed the following year some very nice hybrids among my seedlings.
A hybrid-bean between _Phaseolus nanus_ and _P. multiflorus_, and some
hybrids between the yellow daisy, _Chrysanthemum segetum_ and the allied
_Chrysanthemum coronarium_ or ox-eye daisy which also arose
spontaneously in my garden between parents cultivated at recorded
distances, might further be noted. Further details of these experiments
need not be given. Suffice to say, that occasional crosses between
species do occur, and not even rarely, that they are easily recognized
as such and cannot be confused with cases of atavism, and that therefore
they give proof to the assumption that in the same way crosses
ordinarily occur also between varieties [203] of the same species, if
cultivated at small distances apart, say 40-50 meters or even more.
Vicinism therefore, may play a part in all such cultures, enough to
account for all the impurities observed in the nurseries or in
commercial seed-samples.
Of course this whole discussion is limited to such species as are not
only as a rule visited by insects, but are dependent on these visits for
their fertilization. Most of our garden-flowers are included in this
category. If not then we may expect to find the cultures and seeds pure,
irrespective of the distances between allied varieties, as for instance
with peas, which are known to be self-fertilizing. Another instance is
given by the barley. One of the most curious anomalous varieties of this
cereal, is the "Nepaul-barley," with its small adventitious flowers on
the palets or inner scales. It is a very old, widely cultivated sort,
which always comes true from seed, and which has been tested in repeated
experiments in my garden. The spikelets of this curious plant are
oneflowered and provided with two linear glumes or outer scales. Of the
inner scales or palets, the outer one is three-lobed at the summit,
hence the varietal name of _Hordeum vulgare trifurcatum_. The central
lobe is oblong and hollow, covering a small supernumerary floret
inserted [204] at its base. The two lateral lobes are narrower,
sometimes linear, and are often prolonged into an awn, which is
generally turned away from the center of the spike. The central lobe
sometimes bears two florets at its base, although but one is usually
present and it may be incomplete.
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