The average height of the thirty-four tallest flower-stems on the twenty-three crossed plants is 29.82 inches, and that of the same number of flower-stems on the same number of self-fertilised plants is 27.10 inches, or as 100 to 91. So that the crossed plants now showed a decided advantage over their self-fertilised opponents.
22. POLEMONIACEAE.—Nemophila insignis.
Twelve flowers were crossed with pollen from a distinct plant, but produced only six capsules, containing on an average 18.3 seeds. Eighteen flowers were fertilised with their own pollen and produced ten capsules, containing on an average 12.7 seeds, so that the seeds per capsule were as 100 to 69. (5/25. Several species of Polemoniaceae are known to be proterandrous, but I did not attend to this point in Nemophila. Verlot says ‘Des Variétés’ 1865 page 66, that varieties growing near one another spontaneously intercross.) The crossed seeds weighed a little less than an equal number of self-fertilised seeds, in the proportion of 100 to 105; but this was clearly due to some of the self-fertilised capsules containing very few seeds, and these were much bulkier than the others, from having been better nourished. A subsequent comparison of the number of seeds in a few capsules did not show so great a superiority on the side of the crossed capsules as in the present case.
The seeds were placed on sand, and after germinating were planted in pairs on the opposite sides of five pots, which were kept in the greenhouse. When the seedlings were from 2 to 3 inches in height, most of the crossed had a slight advantage over the self-fertilised. The plants were trained up sticks, and thus grew to a considerable height. In four out of the five pots a crossed plant flowered before any one of the self-fertilised. The plants were first measured to the tips of their leaves, before they had flowered and when the crossed were under a foot in height. The twelve crossed plants averaged 11.1 inches in height, whilst the twelve self-fertilised were less than half of this height, namely, 5.45; or as 100 to 49. Before the plants had grown to their full height, two of the self-fertilised died, and as I feared that this might happen with others, they were again measured to the tops of their stems, as shown in Table 5/72.
TABLE 5/72. Nemophila insignis; 0 means that the plant died.
Heights of plants measured in inches.
Column 1: Number (Name) of Pot.
Column 2: Crossed Plants.
Column 3: Self-fertilised Plants.
Pot 1 : 32 4/8 : 21 2/8.