the same individual plant. I marked many cowslips and primroses, and on the
following year all retained the same character, as did some in my garden which
flowered out of their proper season in the autumn. Mr. W. Wooler, of Darlington,
however, informs us that he has seen early blossoms on the Polyanthus, which
were not long-styled, but became so later in the season. (1/4. I have proved by
numerous experiments, hereafter to be given, that the Polyanthus is a variety of
Primula veris.) Possibly in this case the pistils may not have been fully
developed during the early spring. An excellent proof of the permanence of the
two forms may be seen in nursery-gardens, where choice varieties of the
Polyanthus are propagated by division; and I found whole beds of several
varieties, each consisting exclusively of the one or the other form. The two
forms exist in the wild state in about equal numbers: I collected 522 umbels
from plants growing in several stations, taking a single umbel from each plant;
and 241 were long-styled, and 281 short-styled. No difference in tint or size
could be perceived in the two great masses of flowers.

We shall presently see that most of the species of Primula exist under two
analogous forms; and it may be asked what is the meaning of the above-described
important differences in their structure? The question seems well worthy of
careful investigation, and I will give my observations on the cowslip in detail.
The first idea which naturally occurred to me was, that this species was tending
towards a dioecious condition; that the long-styled plants, with their longer
pistils, rougher stigmas, and smaller pollen-grains, were more feminine in
nature, and would produce more seed;--that the short-styled plants, with their
shorter pistils, longer stamens and larger pollen-grains, were more masculine in
nature. Accordingly, in 1860, I marked a few cowslips of both forms growing in
my garden, and others growing in an open field, and others in a shady wood, and
gathered and weighed the seed. In all the lots the short-styled plants yielded,
contrary to my expectation, most seed. Taking the lots together, the following
is the result:--