RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1873.07.14. Most plants produce far more flower than fruit. CUL-DAR76.B48. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 12.2022. RN1
NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volumes CUL-DAR 76-79 contain material for Darwin's book Cross and self fertilisation (1876).
[48]
July 14. /73/ Most plants produce far more flower than fruit. — look at orchards in bloom, they are a sheet of white.— They cd not support so many fruit & seeds. It is quite possible or probable from what we have seen that those fertilised by other stock or individuals wd set a far larger proportion; in the same way as Herbert found with some of his lilies, that they wd set with their own pollen, then all shanked off when some flowers were fertilised with pollen from another species.— This explains what Mr Bennett has remarked in letter that such fruit as do set produce full complement of seeds
It might be an advantage to a tree thus to produce innumerable flowers
[in margin:] & so with ovules within ovarium
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 1 June, 2023