Now this
size of the head can easily be measured, either by its height or
circumference, or by its weight. Moreover we can arrange them into a
series according to their size. If we do this with the polycephalous
variety, the relation between individual strength and degree of
metamorphosis at once becomes manifest. The largest heads have the
brightest crowns, and the number of supernumerary carpels diminishes in
nearly exact proportion to the size of the fruits. Fruits with less than
50 altered stamens weighed on an average 5 grams, [380] those with
50-100 such organs 7 grams and those with a bright crown 10 grams, the
appendices being removed before the weighing. Corresponding results have
been reached by the comparison of the height of the capsules with their
abnormal surroundings. The degree of development of the monstrosity is
shown by this observation to be directly dependent on, and in a sense
proportionate to the individual strength of the plant.
The differences between the specimens grown from a single lot of seeds,
for instance from the seeds of one self-fertilized capsule are, as I
have said, partly due to the divergences which are always present in a
bed, even if the utmost care has been taken to make it as uniform as
possible. These local differences are ordinarily underrated and
overlooked, and it is often considered to be sufficient to cultivate
small lots of plants under apparently similar conditions on neighboring
beds, to be justified in imputing all the observed deviations of the
plants to hereditary inequalities.
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