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Sept 20. 1871 I raised 5 plants from one of self-sterile plants on paper (Reseda odorata) (A) & kept them under net till Aug 29th & I then left them to natural action of swarming bees (except 1 plant) till to day. — I have examined the plants now gigantic & separated the branches, speaking largely they may be said to be all 4 quite sterile, until uncovered & now all have the ends of branches thickly studded with pods. — The contrast extraordinary in long thin branches; — But by looking carefully I have fd a few pods— much more on one plant than on the other, of self-fert. pods— small, containing sometimes no seed — generally — very rarely more than 1 — Hence about as sterile as 2 parents, & I may be said to have formed a self-sterile race. — On some of these huge plants, there were about half-a dozen →

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of the small pods— on one plant I saw on one — on the most fertile 1 or 2 dozen, but these were as nothing compared with the vast number of sterile & aborted pods. — Nootherplants near, so these are all mutually fertile. — The 5th plant was art. fert roughly by pollen from another plant in fl. garden & was fertile. — It was kept covered up much longer, but produced pods, through insect agency by other plants of same lot