The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom From Charles Darwin

the effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom From Charles Darwin

Excerpt from The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation: In the Vegetable Kingdom Various means which favour or determine the cross-fertilisation of plants - Benefits derived from cross-fertilisation - Self-fertilisation favourable to the propagation of the species - Brief history of the subject - Object of the experiments, and the manner in which they were tried - Statistical value of the measurements - The experiments carried on during several successive generations - Nature of the relationship of the plants in the later generations - Uniformity of the conditions to which the plants were subjected - Some apparent and some real causes of error - Amount of pollen employed - Arrangement of the work - Importance of the conclusions. There is weighty and abundant evidence that the flowers of most kinds of plants are constructed so as to be occasionally or habitually cross-fertilised by pollen from another flower, produced either by the same plant, or generally, as we shall hereafter see reason to believe, by a distinct plant. Cross-fertilisation is sometimes ensured by the sexes being separated, and in a large number of cases by the pollen and stigma of the same flower being matured at different times. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.