Seeds from the above crossed and self-fertilised capsules, after germinating on bare sand, were planted in pairs on the opposite sides of five moderately-sized pots, which were kept in the greenhouse. The plants after a time appeared starved, and were therefore, without being disturbed, turned out of their pots, and planted in the open ground in two close parallel rows. They were thus subjected to tolerably severe competition with one another; but not nearly so severe as if they had been left in the pots. At the time when they were turned out, their leaves were between 5 and 8 inches in length, and the longest leaf on the finest plant on each side of each pot was measured, with the result that the leaves of the crossed plants exceeded, on an average, those of the self-fertilised plants by .4 of an inch.
In the following summer the tallest flower-stem on each plant, when fully grown, was measured. There were seventeen crossed plants; but one did not produce a flower-stem. There were also, originally, seventeen self-fertilised plants, but these had such poor constitutions that no less than nine died in the course of the winter and spring, leaving only eight to be measured, as in Table 3/23.
TABLE 3/23. Digitalis purpurea.
The tallest Flower-stem on each Plant measured in inches: 0 means that the Plant died before a Flower-stem was produced.
Column 1: Number (Name) of Pot.
Column 2: Crossed Plants.
Column 3: Self-fertilised Plants.
Pot 1 : 53 6/8 : 27 4/8. Pot 1 : 57 4/8 : 55 6/8. Pot 1 : 57 6/8 : 0. Pot 1 : 65 : 0.
Pot 2 : 34 4/8 : 39. Pot 2 : 52 4/8 : 32. Pot 2 : 63 6/8 : 21.
Pot 3 : 57 4/8 : 53 4/8. Pot 3 : 53 4/8 : 0. Pot 3 : 50 6/8 : 0. Pot 3 : 37 2/8 : 0.