In the case of hybrids, it apparently depends
on their whole organisation having been disturbed by being compounded from
two distinct forms; the sterility being closely allied to that which so
frequently affects pure species, when exposed to new and unnatural
conditions of life. He who will explain these latter cases will be able to
explain the sterility of hybrids. This view is strongly supported by a
parallelism of another kind: namely, that, firstly, slight changes in the
conditions of life add to the vigour and fertility of all organic beings;
and secondly, that the crossing of forms, which have been exposed to
slightly different conditions of life, or which have varied, favours the
size, vigour and fertility of their offspring. The facts given on the
sterility of the illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants and
of their illegitimate progeny, perhaps render it probable that some unknown
bond in all cases connects the degree of fertility of first unions with
that of their offspring. The consideration of these facts on dimorphism,
as well as of the results of reciprocal crosses, clearly leads to the
conclusion that the primary cause of the sterility of crossed species is
confined to differences in their sexual elements. But why, in the case of
distinct species, the sexual elements should so generally have become more
or less modified, leading to their mutual infertility, we do not know; but
it seems to stand in some close relation to species having been exposed for
long periods of time to nearly uniform conditions of life.
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