The Effects of Cross & Self-Fertilisation in the Vegetable KingdomDarwin, Charles
Science
The Effects of Cross & Self-Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom
Darwin, Charles
Fertilization of plants; Plants -- Variation; Pollination
In the next or fourth self-fertilised generation, several plants of a
new and tall variety appeared, which increased in the later
self-fertilised generations, owing to its great self-fertility, to the
complete exclusion of the original kinds. The same variety also appeared
amongst the crossed plants, but as it was not at first regarded with any
particular attention, I know not how far it was used for raising the
intercrossed plants; and in the later crossed generations it was rarely
present. Owing to the appearance of this tall variety, the comparison of
the crossed and self-fertilised plants of the fifth and succeeding
generations was rendered unfair, as all the self-fertilised and only a
few or none of the crossed plants consisted of it. Nevertheless, the
results of the later experiments are in some respects well worth giving.
CROSSED AND SELF-FERTILISED PLANTS OF THE FOURTH GENERATION.
Seeds of the two kinds, produced in the usual way from the two sets of
plants of the third generation, were sown on opposite sides of two pots
(1 and 2); but the seedlings were not thinned enough and did not grow
well. Many of the self-fertilised plants, especially in one of the pots,
consisted of the new and tall variety above referred to, which bore
large and almost white flowers marked with crimson blotches. I will call
it the WHITE VARIETY. I believe that it first appeared amongst both the
crossed and self-fertilised plants of the last generation; but neither
my gardener nor myself could remember any such variety in the seedlings
raised from the purchased seed. It must therefore have arisen either
through ordinary variation, or, judging from its appearance amongst both
the crossed and self-fertilised plants, more probably through reversion
to a formerly existing variety.
In Pot 1 the tallest crossed plant was 8 1/2 inches, and the tallest
self-fertilised 5 inches in height. In Pot 2, the tallest crossed plant
was 6 1/2 inches, and the tallest self-fertilised plant, which consisted
of the white variety, 7 inches in height; and this was the first
instance in my experiments on Mimulus in which the tallest
self-fertilised plant exceeded the tallest crossed. Nevertheless, the
two tallest crossed plants taken together were to the two tallest
self-fertilised plants in height as 100 to 80. As yet the crossed plants
were superior to the self-fertilised in fertility; for twelve flowers on
the crossed plants were crossed and yielded ten capsules, the seeds of
which weighed 1.71 grain. Twenty flowers on the self-fertilised plants
were self-fertilised, and produced fifteen capsules, all appearing poor;
and the seeds from ten of them weighed only .68 grain, so that from an
equal number of capsules the crossed seeds were to the self-fertilised
in weight as 100 to 40.
CROSSED AND SELF-FERTILISED PLANTS OF THE FIFTH GENERATION.
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