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ACE Biology for NEET AIPMT AIIMS Volume 1 3rd Edition Dr Ramesh C Narang Dr Sahil Agarwal
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior permission of the author and publisher. The author and the publisher do not take any legal responsibility for any errors or misrepresentations that might have crept in. We have tried and made our best efforts to provide accurate up-to-date information in this book.
For further information about the books from DISHA publIcAtIon, Log on to www.dishapublication.com or email to info@dishapublication.com
Preface
We feel great pleasure in introducing the book, ‘ACE Biology for AIPMT/NEET Entrance Exam Vol- 2’. The book is essentially examination oriented with an object to lighten the burden of the students.
(i)
The salient features of the book are as follows:
The book has been written according to the Latest syllabus of AIPMT/NEET issued by MCI (2015)
Each chapter begins with a title cover having major information of the content in ‘At a glance’
The photographs and complicated figures have been made simple and ‘hand-drawn’.
A number of ‘Connecting concepts’ have been added. They have also been made more purposeful and self explanatory
The key terms throughout the text have been printed in bold to draw more attention.
The MCQs of various national and state level entrance examination are up to date (2015)
In ‘Check points’ an attempt has been made to make the revision by the student more meaningful, which will help them to retain the matter for a longer duration.
The total look of the book has been kept very friendly to the students and more attractive to the teachers.
Since, there have been changes in syllabus of NCERT and AIPMT from time to time, certain topics, like ‘Biomedical Engineering’, ‘Growth and Regeneration’ and ‘Biology of Living World’ have been dropped from the book. Besides, the content of certain other chapters have been modified to make them more AIPMT oriented.
Besides, the following are the major highlights of the book :
(i)
Looking at the pattern of AIPMT, the authors have also added a new set of questions, ‘NCERT- BASED QUESTIONS’, after each and every chapter of the book. The students will find it very useful for the competitive exams.
(ii) More than 1000 questions are covered under NCERT-Based Q UESTI o NS .
(iii) The printing and other type of errors have been specially taken care of
(i) Around 5000 questions in the ‘Window to Competitive Exams’ covering exams like AIPMT, AIIMS, AFMC, BHU, AMU, CPMT, JIPMER, Vellore, Wardha, DPMT, Kerala PMT, K-Cet etc.
(iv) Most of the topics not covered in AIPMT and other PMTS have been removed.
(v) The questions that have become out dated, i.e., before 1995, have been dropped.
Though attempt has been made to make the book error-free but shortcomings are inevitable. We shall be grateful to readers for pointing out and suggesting ways for the improvement of the book
As always, we are grateful to Dr. O.P. Agarwal and the entire team of ‘Disha Publication’, to whose behest these editions have finally seen the light. The members of Disha team cooperated with boundless enthusiasm and limitless energy. It was a pleasing experience to work with them.
We express our sincere appreciations to all students and faculty members for their help in the improvement of this book.
In case of any confusion regarding any question/ explanation given in the book you can contact the authors, at narangrc@rediffmail.com or info@dishapublication.com or put your query at aipmtbiology.com
AIPMT 2016 Solved Paper
1 Chapter Reproduction in Organism 1-20
• Asexual Reproduction • Sexual Reproduction
2 Chapter Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants 21-60
• Flower • Pre-fertilization : Structures and Events • Double Fertilization • Post Fertilization Structure and Events
• Apomixis and Polyembryony
3 Chapter Human Reproduction 61-90
• Human Development
• Asexual Reproduction • Sexual Reproduction • Human Reproductive System • Gametogenesis • Menstrual Cycle
4 Chapter Reproductive Health 91-102
• Reproductive Health • Population Explosion • Contraceptives • Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) • Infertility
• Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
5 Chapter Principles of Inheritance and Variation 103-164
• Terminologies of Mendelian Experiment • Mendels Laws of Inheritance • Experiments of Mendel • Incomplete Dominance • Co-dominance
• Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance • Linkage and Recombination • Crossing Over • Sex Determination in Human and Other Animals • Mutation • Human Chromosomes • Sex Chromatin • Mendelian Inheritance • II. Sex Chromosomal Traits • Pedigree Analysis
6 Chapter
Molecular Basis of Inheritance
165-200
• Nucleic Acids (DNA & RNA) • Nucleosides • Nucleotides • Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) • DNA as Genetic Material • Replication
• Transcription • Genetic Code • tRNA : The Adaptor Molecule • Translation • Regulation of Gene Expression • Human Genome Project (HGP)
7 Chapter Evolution 201-258
• Important Theories Regarding Origin of Life • Organic Evolution • Evidences of Organic Evolution • Geological Time Scale • Lamarckism
8
Chapter
Health and Diseases
• Neolamarckism • Darwinism • Neo-darwinism • Mutation Theory • Synthetic Theory • Speciation • Mimicry • Gene Pool
• Gene Flow/Gene Migration • Genetic Drift • Variations • Laws / Rules / Trends of Evolution • Isolation • Hardy-weinberg’s Law • Zoogeographical Realms • Taxonomic Position • Similarities Between Modern Apes & Human
• Antigens • Immune Disorders • Addiction
9
Chapter
259-306
• Non- communicable Diseases • Communicable Diseases • Diseases Caused by Prions • Vaccination • Cancer • Immunity
Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production
307-336
10
Chapter
Microbes in Human Welfare
337-356
• Live Stock • Animal Husbandry • Poultry • Fishes and Fisheries • Insects and Their Products • Plant Breeding • Single Cell Protein (SCP) • Tissue Culture
• Microbes in Household Products • Microbes in Industrial Products • Microbes in Sewage Treatment • Microbes in Production of Biogas • Microbes as Biocontrol Agent • Microbes as Biofertilizers https://neetmedicalacademy.blogspot.com
• Recombinant DNA Technology • Process of Recombinant DNA Technology • Uses of Recombinant Proteins
AIPMT 2016 SOLVED PAPER
1. Gause’s principle of competitive exclusion states that :
(1) more abundant species will exclude the less abundant species through competition.
(2) competition for the same resources excludes species having different food preferences.
(3) no two species can occupy the same niche indefinitely for the same limiting resources.
(4) larger organisms exclude smaller ones through competition.
2. The two polypeptides of human insulin are linked together by (1) hydrogen bonds (2) phosphodiester bond (3) covalent bond (4) disulphide bridges
3. Which of the following most appropriately describes haemophilia ?
5. A system of rotating crops with legume or grass pasture to improve soil structure and fertility is called (1) Ley farming
(2) Contour farming
(3) Strip farming (4) Shifting agriculture
6. In context of Amniocentesis, which of the following statement is incorrect ?
(1) It is usually done when a woman is between 14-16 weeks pregnant.
(2) It is used for prenatal sex determination (3) It can be used for detection of Down syndrome (4) It can be used for detection of Cleft palate
7. Which is the National Aquatic Animal of India ? (1) Gangetic shark
(2) River dolphin (3) Blue whale (4) Sea-horse
8. Which of the following is required as inducer(s) for the expression of Lac operon ?
(1) Glucose (2) Galactose
(3) Lactose (4) Lactose and galactose
9. A complex of ribosomes attached to a single strand of RNA is known as
(1) Polysome (2) Polymer (3) Polypeptide (4) Okazaki fragment
10. Fertilization in humans is practically feasible only if (1) the sperms are transported into vagina just after the release of ovum in fallopian tube
(2) the ovum and sperms are transported simultaneously to ampullary isthmic junction of the fallopian tube
(3) the ovum and sperms are transported simultaneously to ampullary - isthmic junction of the cervix
(4) the sperms are transported into cervix within 48 hrs of release of ovum in uterus
11. Asthma may be attributed to (1) bacterial infection of the lungs
(2) allergic reaction of the mast cells in the lungs
(3) inflammation of the trachea
(4) accumulation of fluid in the lungs
12. Select the incorrect statement :
(1) FSH stimulates the sertoli cells which help in spermiogenesis
(2) LH triggers ovulation in ovary
(3) LH and FSH decrease gradually during the follicular phase
(4) LH triggers secretion of androgens from the Leydig cells
13. A tall true breeding garden pea plant is crossed with a dwarf true breeding garden pea plant. When the F1 plants were selfed the resulting genotypes were in the ratio of
14. Which of the following is the most important cause of animals and plants being driven to extinction ?
(1) Over - exploitation
(2) Alien species invasion
(3) Habitat loss and fragmentation
(4) Co-extinctions
15. Which of the following is not a feature of the plasmids?
(1) Independent replication
(2) Circular structure
(3) Transferable
(4) Single - stranded
16. In higher vertebrates, the immune system can distinguish self-cells and non-self. If this property is lost due to genetic abnormality and it attacks self-cells, then it leads to
(1) allergic response
(2) graft rejection
(3) auto-immune disease
(4) active immunity
17. Match the terms in Column-I with their description in Column-II and choose the correct option :
Column-I
Column-II
(a) Dominance (i) Many genes govern a single character
(b) Codominance (ii) In a heterozygous organism only one allele expresses itself (c) Pleiotropy (iii) In a heterozygous organism both alleles express themselves fully
(d) Polygenic inheritance (iv) A single gene influences many characters
(a) (b) (c) (d) (1) (ii) (i) (iv) (iii) (2) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i)
(3) (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) (4) (iv) (iii) (i) (ii)
18. Joint Forest Management Concept was introduced in India during (1) 1960 s (2) 1970 s (3) 1980 s (4) 1990 s
19. Pick out the correct statements :
(a) Haemophilia is a sex-linked recessive disease
(b) Down’s syndrome is due to aneuploidy
(c) Phenylketonuria is an autosomal recessive gene disorder.
(d) Sickle cell anaemia is a X-linked recessive gene disorder
(1) (a) and (d) are correct
(2) (b) and (d) are correct
(3) (a), (c) and (d) are correct (4) (a), (b) and (c) are correct
20. Which of the following approaches does not give the defined action of contraceptive ?
(1) Barrier methods prevent fertilization
(2) Intra uterine devices Increase phagocytosis of sperms, suppress sperm motility and fertilizing capacity of sperms
(3) Hormonal Prevent/retard entry of contraceptives sperms, prevent ovulation and fertilization
(4) Vasectomy Prevents spermatogenesis
21. The taq polymerase enzyme is obtained from (1) Thermus aquaticus
(2) Thiobacillus ferroxidans
(3) Bacillus subtilis
(4) Pseudomonas putida
22. Identify the correct statement on ‘inhibin’
(1) Inhibits the secretion of LH, FSH and Prolactin.
(2) Is produced by granulose cells in ovary and inhibits the secretion of FSH.
(3) Is produced by granulose cells in ovary and inhibits the secretion of LH.
(4) Is produced by nurse cells in testes and inhibits the secretion of LH.
23. Which part of the tobacco plant is infected by Meloidogyne incognita ?
(1) Flower (2) Leaf
(3) Stem (4) Root
24. Antivenom injection contains preformed antibodies while polio drops that are administered into the body contain
(1) Activated pathogens
(2) Harvested antibodies
(3) Gamma globulin
(4) Attenuated pathogens
25. Which of the following is not required for any of the techniques of DNA fingerprinting available at present ?
(1) Polymerase chain reaction
(2) Zinc finger analysis
(3) Restriction enzymes
(4) DNA-DNA hybridization
26. Which of the following structures is homologus to the wing of a bird ?
(1) Dorsal fin of a Shark
(2) Wing of a Moth
(3) Hind limb of Rabbit
(4) Flipper of Whale
27. Which of the following statements is not true for cancer cells in relation to mutations ?
(1) Mutations in proto-oncogenes accelerate the cell cycle.
(2) Mutations destroy telomerase inhibitor.
(3) Mutations inactive the cell control.
(4) Mutations inhibit production of telomerase.
28. Following are the two statements regarding the origin of life (a) The earliest organisms that appeared on the earth were non-green and presumably anaerobes.
(b) The first autotrophic organisms were the chemoautotrophs that never released oxygen.
Of the above statements which one of the following options is correct ?
(1) (a) is correct but (b) is false.
(2) (b) is correct but (a) is false.
(3) Both (a) and (b) are correct.
(4) Both (a) and (b) are false.
29. Analogous structures are a result of (1) Divergent evolution
(2) Convergent evolution
(3) Shared ancestry
(4) Stabilizing selection
30. Which of the following is a restriction endonuclease?
(1) Hind II (2) Protease
(3) DNase I (4) RNase
31. The term ecosystem was coined by (1) E.P. Odum (2) A.G. Tansley (3) E. Haeckel (4) E. Warming
32. When does the growth rate of a population following the logistic model equal zero ? The logistic model is given as dN/dt = rN(1–N/K)
(1) when N/K is exactly one.
(2) when N nears the carrying capacity of the habitat.
(3) when N/K equals zero.
(4) when death rate is greater than birth rate.
33. Which of the following would appear as the pioneer organisms on bare rocks?
(1) Lichens (2) Liverworts (3) Mosses (4) Green algae
34. Which one of the following is the starter codon ?
(1) AUG (2) UGA (3) UAA (4) UAG
35. Depletion of which gas in the atmosphere can lead to an increased incidence of skin cancers
37. Which of the following is wrongly matched in the given table ?
Microbe Product Application
(1) Trichoderma Cyclosporin A immunosuppolysporum pressive drug (2) Monascus Statins lowering of purpureus blood cholesterol
(3) Streptococcus Streptokinase removal of clot from blood vessel
(4) Clostridium Lipase removal of butylicum oil stains
38. In a testcross involving F1 dihybrid flies, more parentaltype offspring were produced than the recombinant-type offspring. This indicates (1) the two genes are located on two different chromosomes. (2) chromosomes failed to separate during meiosis. (3) the two genes are linked and present on the same chromosome.
(4) both of the characters are controlled by more than one gene.
39. It is much easier for a small animal to run uphill than for a large animal, because (1) it is easier to carry a small body weight.
(2) smaller animals have a higher metabolic rate. (3) small animals have a lower O2 requirement. (4) the efficiency of muscles in large animals is less than in the small animals.
40. The primitive prokaryotes responsible for the production of biogas from the dung of ruminant animals, include the (1) Halophiles (2) Thermoacidiophiles (3) Methanogens (4) Eubacteria
41. A river with an inflow of domestic sewage rich in organic waste may result in (1) drying of the river very soon due to algal bloom. (2) increased population of aquatic food web organisms. (3) an increased production of fish due to biodegradable nutrients.
(4) death of fish due to lack of oxygen.
HINTS & SOLUTIONS
1. (3) Gause’s principle of competitive exclusion can be restated to say that no two species can occupy the same niche indefinitely when resources are limiting. Certainly species can and do coexist while competing for some of the same resources. Nevertheless, Gause’s theory predicts that when two species coexist on a long-term basis, either resources must not be limited or their niches will always differ in one or more features; otherwise, one species will outcompete the other and the extinction of the second species will inevitably result, a process referred to as competitive exclusion.
2. (4) Insulin is a hormone consisting of 2 polypeptide chains. Each chain is composed of a specific sequence of amino acid residues connected by peptide bonds. In humans, chain A has 21 amino acids, and chain B has 30. Post translational modifications result in the connection of these two chains by disulfide bridges. Cysteine residues on A7 and B7, as well as A20 to B19 are covalently connected by disulfide bridges.
3. (2) Hemophilia A and hemophilia B are inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern. The genes associated with these conditions are located on the X chromosome, which is one of the two sex chromosomes. In males (who have only one X chromosome), one altered copy of the gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the condition. In females (who have two X chromosomes), a mutation would have to occur in both copies of the gene to cause the disorder. Because it is unlikely that females will have two altered copies of this gene, it is very rare for females to have hemophilia. A characteristic of X-linked inheritance is that fathers cannot pass X-linked traits to their sons.
4. (1) Emphysema results when the delicate linings of the air sacs in the lungs become damaged beyond repair. Most commonly, the toxins in cigarette smoke create the damage. Emphysema is called smoker’s disease.
5. (1) The growing of grass or legumes in rotation with grain or tilled crops as a soil conservation measure is called Ley farming.
6. (4) Amniocentesis (also referred to as amniotic fluid test or AFT) is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections, and also used for sex determination in which a small amount of amniotic fluid, which contains fetal tissues, is sampled from the amniotic sac. Cleft palate is a developmental abnormality which can only be detected by sonography.
7. (2) River Dolphin is the National Aquatic Animal of India. This mammal is also said to represent the purity of the holy Ganga as it can only survive in pure and fresh water. Platanista gangetica has a long pointed snout and also have visible teeth in both the upper and lower jaws.
8. (3) Lac operon is an inducible operon. Lactose is the substrate for the enzyme beta-galactosidase and it also regulates switching on and off of the operon. Hence, it is termed as inducer. Inducers function by disabling repressors. The gene is expressed because an inducer binds to the repressor. The binding of the inducer to the repressor prevents the repressor from binding to the operator. RNA polymerase can then begin to transcribe operon genes.
9. (1) A polysome or polyribosome is a complex of an mRNA molecule and two or more ribosomes, which is formed during the active translation process. They were initially named as ergosomes in 1963. However, further research by Jonathan Warner and Alex Rich characterized polysome.
10. (2) The word ampulla is derived from the Latin word ‘flask’. Being the second portion of the fallopian tube, it is the intermediate dilated portion which immediately curves over the ovary. This is the common site of human fertilization as both the ovum and sperms are simultaneously transported here.
11. (2) A mast cell or a mastocyte is typically a white blood cell. It is a special kind of granulocyte, which is a part of the immune system and laden with histamine and heparin. Besides these, mast cells also secrete the prostaglandin (PG) D2, and leukotriene (LT) C4, which are capable of inducing bronchoconstriction and mucosal edema, both features of asthma.
12. (3) Considering the female reproductive endocrinology, ovulation is the process of the monthly release of the viable oocyte from the ovary between the time of menarche and menopause. During this time, there is a surge in the production of LH and FSH, termed as gonadotropins, thereby initiating estradiol and progesterone secretion from the ovary. Both these hormones are very important for the menstrual cycle.
14. (3) The primary cause of human-induced extinction events is simply human overpopulation of planet Earth. The most important causal anthropogenic activities are habitat destruction and fragmentation.
15. (4) Plasmid has an extra chromosomal, double stranded circular DNA.
16. (3) An autoimmune disease is a pathological state arising from an abnormal immune response of the body to substances and tissues that are normally present in the body.
17. (2)
18. (3) Joint Forest Management originated in West Bengal accidentally at the Arabari Forest Range in West Midnapore, near Midnapore town in 1971. After the initial successes in West Bengal and Haryana, the JFM schemes received national importance in the legislation of 1988.
19. (4) Sickle cell disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.
20. (4) Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization or permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vas deferens are severed and then tied or sealed in a manner so as to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream (ejaculate) and thereby prevent fertilization.
21. (1) The Taq polymerase enzyme is obtained from Thermus aquaticus which lives in hot springs.
22. (2) In both females and males, inhibin inhibits FSH production. In females, FSH stimulates the secretion of inhibin from the granulosa cells of the ovarian follicles in the ovaries. In turn, inhibin suppresses FSH. In males, androgens stimulate inhibin production. It is secreted from the Sertoli cells, located in the seminiferous tubules inside the testes.
23. (4) Meloidogyne incognita is a nematode (roundworm) in the family Heteroderidae. It is commonly called the “southern root-knot nematode” or the “cotton rootknot nematode”.
24. (4) Oral Polio Vaccine consists of a mixture of attenuated (weakened) poliovirus strains of all three poliovirus types.
25. (2) Zinc-finger analysis is used for protein analysis. The zinc finger proteins are a super family of proteins involved in numerous activities of plant growth and development.
26. (4) Wings of a bird and flippers of a whale are modified forelimbs.
27. (4) Telomerase production is increased in cancer. Telomerase has been examined in hundreds of studies as a potentially sensitive biomarker for screening, early cancer detection, prognosis or in monitoring as an indication of residual disease.
Pollen
28. (3) Both statem ents are correct because primitive atmosphere was reducing and chlorophyll appeared later on. Chemoautotrophs were the first autotrophic organisms unable to perform photolysis of water and never released oxygen.
29. (2) Analogous structures are those that have the same function, but they are not derived from a common ancestor and have undergone different patterns of development ie., Convergent evolution which is natural selection that favors the same type of structure in different ancestors.
30. (1) A restriction enzyme or restriction endonuclease is an enzyme that cuts DNA at or near specific recognition nucleotide sequences known as restriction sites. Hind II among these is a type of restriction endonuclease.
31. (2) Sir Arthur George Tansley was an English botanist and a pioneer in the science of ecology who coined the term ecosystem.
32. (1) In logistic growth model population growth equation is described as
N = population density at time t; r = Intrinsic rate of natural increase; K = carrying capacity
34. (1) The start codon is the first codon of a messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript translated by a ribosome. The start codon always codes for methionine in eukaryotes and a modified Met (fMet) in prokaryotes. The most common start codon is AUG.
35. (2) The ozone layer or ozone shield refers to a region of Earth’s stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It contains high concentrations of ozone (O3) relative to other parts of the atmosphere.
36. (4) Apomixis (asexual seed formation) is the result of a plant gaining the ability to bypass the most fundamental aspects of sexual reproduction: meiosis and fertilization. Without the need for male fertilization, the resulting seed germinates a plant that develops as a maternal clone.
37. (4) Clostridium butylicum is used for butyric acid production
38. (3) When two genes in a dihybrid cross are situated on the same chromosome, the proportion of parental gene combinations are much higher than the non-parental or recombinant type. This is also called incomplete linkage.
39. (2) Basal metabolic rate is inversely proportional to body size. So smaller animals have a higher metabolic rate. Hence more energy production.
When N/K = 1; 1 – = 0
Therefore, = 0
33. (1) Lichens produce small amounts of carbonic acids from their “roots” and these slowly dissolve the rock, releasing nutrients. Other nutrients are obtained from water-borne or air-borne particles of both organic and inorganic materials. The body of a lichen contains an alga; this is able to photosynthesise sugars, some of which are passed on to the fungal component of the lichen. In return the alga gets a tiny but significant amount of shelter within the tissues of the lichen.
40. (3) Methanogens are microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct in anoxic conditions. They are obligate anaerobic ancient and primitive bacteria. They are involved in methanogenesis.
41. (4) Domestic sewage rich in organic waste leads to increase in Biological Oxygen Demand, which leads to decrease D.O.(dissolved oxygen) which leads to death of fishes.
Chapter 1
Reproduction in Organism
While going through the chapter pay special attention to the following –
1. Approximate life span of some organism 2. Difference between asexual & sexual reproduction 3. Chromosome numbers in meiocytes & gametes.
Reproduction is the process by which all living organism give rise to new organisms similar to themselves. It is essential for the survival of the species since all the living beings have a similar life span.
All organisms are alike because they
• are made up of cells.
• respond to external stimuli.
• have various mechanisms for maintaining homeostasis.
• have heritable genetic material.
• take birth, grow, reproduce and die after completing their life span.
The period from birth to death is known as life span. The life span of the organisms varies from one organism to another organism.
At a Glance
Asexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction in plants
• Agamospermy
• Spore Formation
• Vegetative Reproduction
• Cutting
• Layering
• Grafting
• Micropropagation
Asexual Reproduction in animals
• Fission
• Budding
• Fragmentation
• Cyst & spores
Sexual Reproduction
Pre-fertilization events
• Gametogenesis
• Gamete transfer
Fertilization
Post-fertilization events
Connecting Concepts
Maximum life span – It refers to the maximum number of years survived or the greatest age reached by any member of a species.
Average life span – It refers to the average number of years survived or age reached by members of a population.
Life expectancy – It refers to the age at which half the population still survives. Therefore, maximum life span is the characteristic of species and life expectancy is the characteristic of population.
Table 1.1 : Approximate Life span of some organisms
Organisms Life span
Mayfly One day
Man 65 years
Elephant 65 years
Parrot 140 years
Tortoise 200 years
Cat 35-40 years
Dog 20-30 years
Monkey 26 years
Wheat 5 months
Banyan tree 300-500 years
Sequoia 3000-4000 years
Reproduction ensures the continuity of the species, generation after generation. Genetic variation is created and inherited during reproduction.
Four basic processes of reproduction are – DNA replication, cell division, formation of reproductive units and development of new individuals.
Living organisms reproduce by two different modes of reproduction : (i) Asexual reproduction (ii) Sexual reproduction
Rate of reproduction is faster in asexual reproduction.
In lower organism, reproduction occurs commonly by fission and budding whereas in higher organisms, reproduction occurs with the help of well developed sex organs.
Table 1.2 : Difference between asexual and sexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction
Sexual reproduction
1. It occurs only in invertebrates and lower chordates. It occurs almost in all types of animals.
2. It is always uniparental. It is usually biparental.
3. Gametes are not formed. Two types of gametes are formed.
4. It involves only mitosis. It involves both meiosis and mitosis.
5. Daughter organisms are genetically identical to the parent. Daughter organisms genetically differ from their parents.
6. Since there is no variation, so it does not contribute to evolution of the species.
7. Occurs by fission, budding or fragmentation.
Because of variations, it contributes to the evolution of species.
Occurs by the formation of haploid gametes which fuse to form a diploid zygote.
8. It is a quick method of multiplication. It is a slower method of multiplication.
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Asexual reproduction is a type of process in which, the new organisms are produced without the formation and fusion of gametes. In this case, all the genes and genetic contents are received by the offspring from one parent through mitotic cell division. Offsprings are genetically and morphologically identical to the parents and are termed as clones
Random mutation is the source of genetic variations in this type of reproduction.
Asexual reproduction occurs most commonly in unicellular organisms, in plants and in certain animals that have relatively simple organizations.
In plants, asexual reproduction is of 3 types – agamospermy, spore formation and vegetative reproduction . In animals, it is of following types – fission, budding, fragmentation and cysts & spores.
Asexual Reproduction in Plants
Agamospermy
Agamospermy is a kind of plant apomixis in which the embryos and seeds are formed by asexual reproductive methods without involving meiotic gametogenesis and sexual fusion of gametes. It occurs widely in ferns and the flowering plants.
Agamospermy is of three types – recurrent apomixis , adventitive embryony and non-recurrent agamospermy.
Flow Charts 1.1 : Types of Agamospermy Agamospermy
In ,a seedmay possessupt o4 0 embryos(onenormal andrestadventive).
Apospory Apogamy
A posporousformed gametophyt ea re generallydiploid. Lead st o polyploidy formation.new speciesinpteridophytes andbryophytes. Hence
Gametophyte
Sporophyte give rise to
Fungi and simple plants such as algae reproduce through spores. Spores after certain time give rise to young ones. In different organisms, the spores are of different kinds : zoospores, sporangiospores, chlamydospores, conidia, etc., e.g., Phytophthora, Rhizopus.
Spores taking part in asexual reproduction are called accessory spores or mitospores.
(a) (b) Conidi a
Fig. 1.1 : Asexual reproductive structures : (a) Zoospores of Chlamydomonas (b) Conidia of Penicillium
No g ameticfusio n involved. Suchsporophytesarenot viableifproducedfrom haploidgametophytes.
Sporophyte
Gametophyte give rise to
Vegetative Propagation / Reproduction
Regeneration or formation of a new individual from any vegetative part of the body is called vegetative reproduction or vegetative propagation. The lower plants reproduce vegetatively through budding, fission, fragmentation, gemmae, resting buds, spores, etc.
Since the formation of these structures does not involve two parents, the process involved is asexual.
Importance of vegetative propagation are –
• Growing of some seedless fruits plants, eg. banana, rose, grapes, oranges etc.
• It is the only mean to produce genetically identical offsprings and preserve a stock of desired variety.
• It is an easier, less expensive and a rapid method of propagation.
• Superior quality of flowers and fruits can be produced by the method of grafting.
• It also helps in removing common infections from the plant (parent).
It is very common mode of reproduction and it may be natural vegetative propagation or artificial vegetative propagation
I. Natural Methods of Vegetative Propagation
In natural methods of propagation, a portion of the plant gets detached from the body of the mother plant. The detached portion may be a part of stem, leaf, root etc., which develops into a new independent plant under suitable environmental conditions. These structures are called vegetative propagules
Some of these are given below.
(i) Vegetative propagation by stems
The modified stems like bulbs, runners, rhizomes, corms, tubers, offsets, etc., help the plant to multiply under favourable conditions.
Underground stem
Suckers – Chrysanthemum
Rhizomes – Ginger, Banana
Bulbs – Onion
Tubers – Potato
Creeping stems
Runners – Cyanodon, Oxalis
Stolons – Fragaria
Offset – Pistia
Aerial stem – Opuntia
(ii) Vegetative propagation by roots
The roots of some woody plants produce shoots which grow into new plants, e.g., Murraya, Lebbeck tree (Albizzia), Sisham (Dalbergia sisso) etc. Modified tuberous roots of Sweet potato, Asparagus, Dahlia, Tapioca, Tinospora etc. develop buds and each of which form a new plant.
(iii) Vegetative propagation by leaves
The leaves generally do not help in vegetative propagation. However, in Bryophyllum pinnatum and B. daigremontianum, develop along the leaf margins which on deattachment produce independent plants. In elephant ear plant (Begonia) also, leaf buds are produced from petiole and veins throughout the surface of the leaf. Walking fern propagates through leaf tips.
(iv) Vegetative propagation by reproductive parts
Flowers are primarily associated with sexual reproduction. But in Globba, American aloe (Agave), Onion (Allium cepa), etc. special multicellular structures, called bulbils, occur on the stem. These are the modifications of axillary buds. Bulbils grow into new plants when shed from the mother plant.
(a ) R unner– Oxalis
Leaves
Internode Node
Adventitious roots
)Tube
Adventitious cuds
Plantlets
Nodes
Buds
Adventitious root
Leaves
Stem (Offset)
Roots
Root pocket
(e) Buds of leaf Bryophyllum
(f) Bulb–Onion
Leaf bases (Fleshy)
Reduced stem
Adventitious roots
(g) Bulbil of Agave
Fig. 1.2 : Vegetative propagules in angiosperms.
II. Artificial methods of vegetative propagation
Several methods of vegetative propagation are man made and developed by plant growers and horticulturists for commercial production of crops. They are called artificial methods. In this method a portion is separated from the body of the plant and then it is grown independently.
The various modes of artificial vegetative reproduction are– cutting, layering, grafting and micropropagation etc.
(i) Cutting
• The small piece of any plant (stem, root or leaf) used for propagation is called cutting. Leaf cuttings are used to propagate Sansevieria, Begonia, Bryophyllum, Glocinia and Kalanchoe.
• Root cuttings are used to propagate Citron and Tamarind
• Stem cuttings are most commonly used for artificial propagation. When cuttings (about 20-30 cm. long pieces of stem) from such plants are put into the moist soil, they develop adventitious roots and buds at the base which develops into new plants.
• Grap es, Sugarcane, Rose, Bougainvillea , Carnation, Coleus, Duranta. etc. are propagated by stem cuttings.
• Favourable time for planting of cuttings is the spring.
(b) Rhizome –G i nge r
(c
r–P o tato
(d) Offset – Pistia
Check Point
1. Match the following : Column I Column II
A. Suckers 1. Rhizopus
B. Zoospore 2. Ulothrie
C. Bulbils 3. Agave
D. Chlamydospores 4. Mint
2. Give two examples of vegetative propagation by roots and stems.
3. Air layering is used in the vegetative propagation of litchi, lemon etc. (True or False).
4. Buds present in individual notches along the margin of a potato leaf are capable of forming new plants. (True or False, if false correct the statement).
5. .................is a highly reduced stem represented by a small disc like structure upon which numerous fleshy scale leaves are borne (which store food material).
(ii) Layering
• It differs from cutting in that the development of adventitious roots is induced before the plant part is detached from the parent plant.
• The layering can be of different types - mound and air layering
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Check Point
1. State True or False :
(i) Gemmule is a reproductive structure in sponges.
(ii) In adverse environmental conditions, an Hydra withdraw its pseudopodia and secretes a three layered hard covering or cyst around itself.
(iii) To begin with a small outgrowth of the parents body to develops into a miniature individual is called fragmentation.
(iv) Multiple fission is the commonest and simplest method of reproduction.
(v) In longitudinal binary fission, the plane of cytoplasmic division coincides with the longitudinal axis of the individual as in Euglena and Vorticella.
• In mound layering lower branch of stem is bent and covered in such a way that the tip of the branch remains above the ground. After a few days, the covered part of the stem produces adventitious roots. At this stage the branch is cut off from the parent plant and it grows into a new plant. This method is commonly employed for propagating Strawberry, Jasmine. Grape vine, Raspberry, etc.
• Air layering (Gootee) is employed in plants with thick branches which can not be easily bent. In this method, part of the stem is girdled (i.e., a ring of bark is removed) or slit at an upward angle. This part is covered with moist moss or cotton and enclosed in a polythene bag to prevent drying. The wrapped portion is called gootee. The roots appear after sometime and at that stage the branch is cut and planted. It grows into a new individual.
• This method is used in vegetative propagation of Litchi, Pomegranate, Orange, Lemon, Guava, Bougainvillia, etc.
(iii) Grafting
• A new variety produced by joining parts of two different plants is called grafting. The rooted shoot of one plant, called stock, is joined with a piece of shoot of another plant known as scion. The root stock is generally derived from a plant resistant to diseases and efficient in water and mineral absorption. The scion is a stem cutting from a superior quality plant. The grafting ends of both, stock and scion are cut obliquely and then placed over one another in such a way that the cambia of two come in close contact. The two pieces are firmly held together by tape, rubber tubing etc. This results in fusion of cambia and formation of new vascular tissue.
• Grafting is generally done between the related varieties or species. This method has been practised for many economically useful plants, such as rose, mango, apple, pear, guava, citrus, rubber etc.
• There are various methods of grafting like tongue or whip grafting, wedge grafting and crown grafting. Besides these a technique, called bud grafting, in which only a single bud along with a small portion of bark having intact cambium instead of a scion is employed for propagations.
• Bud grafting is widely practised in roses, plums, apple etc.
(iv) Micropropagation
• It is the raising of new plants with the help of tissue culture technique.
• Small pieces of plant organs or tissues are grown aseptically in a suitable nutrient medium. Initially it results in the formation of undifferentiated mass of cells called callus which later differentiates to produce a large number of plantlets. These plantlets are then transferred to separate pots or nursery beds to obtain a large number of plants.
• Tissue culture technique is useful in obtaining virus free plants, homozygous diploids and in commercial micropropagation of Orchids, Carnation. Gladiolus , Chrysanthemum and other Ornamental plants. This method is also employed for quick multiplication of plants.
Asexual reproduction in Animals
Fission
Fission is the commonest and simplest method of reproduction. In fission body of an individual undergoes division to produce 2 or more equal sized daughters.
Fission is of two types - binary fission and multiple fission.
Binary fission is one of the most common modes of asexual reproduction in which the parent cell divides into two small and approximately equal sized individuals, e.g., Bacteria, Amoeba
Modes of binary fission are : Simple binary fission (e.g., Amoeba), Longitudinal binary fission (e.g., Euglena), Transverse binary fission (e.g., Paramecium) and Oblique binary fission (e.g., Ceratium).
Multiple fission : In this division, parent cell divides into many small daughter individuals simultaneously, e.g., Plasmodium, Amoeba etc. It occurs during unfavourable condition.
Constriction
Fig. 1.3 : Binary Fission in Amoeba
Cyst
Protoplast
Daughter cells
Parent cell
Budding
Daughter cell
Fig. 1.4 : Multiple Fission in Plasmodium
Budding is an unequal division of the parent where the identity of the parent body is still maintained.
Budding is in contrast to binary fission where parent body divides equally into two and no identity of the parent is left.
Budding is the formation of multicellular or unicellular outgrowth (called bud) on or inside the parental body.
Bud formed inside the body is called gemmules or statoblasts and formed on external surface is called exogenous bud (e.g. Hydra).
Budding is found in sponges, annileds coelenterate (Hydra), (Syllis and tunicates (Salpa) among animals and among fungi it is formed in yeast.
Bud
Dividing
nucleus
Parent cell
Enlarging bud
Fig. 1.5 : Budding in Yeast
Bud
Nucleus of the bud
Nucleus
Cytoplasm
Fragmentation
In fragmentation the body may break into two or more fragments and each fragment develops into a complete individual, e.g. Spirogyra
It is found in some flatworms (Microstomium), sea anemones among coelenterate and echinoderms.
Fig. 1.6 : Gemmules in sponge
Cyst and Spores
Cysts and spores are minute propagules which function as sporulation as well as penetrating structures.
In sporulation which occurs in many protozoa and bacteria the asexual reproduction occurs by the division of nucleus into several daughter nuclei and then each daughter nucleus get enclosed by small amount of cytoplasm to form a spore.
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of male and female gametes by the process of fertilization.
It results in offspring that are not identical to the parents or to themselves.
When male and female gametes are produced from male and female parents respectively, then it is called unisexual reproduction, e.g. Man, Cow, etc.
When both male and female gametes are produced from same individual, then it is called bisexual reproduction, e.g. earthworm, tapeworm.
There are three phases in an organism’s life – juvenile phase, reproductive phase and old phase.
• Juvenile phase or vegetative phase : All organisms have to reach a certain phase of growth and maturity in their life, before they can reproduce sexually. This growth period is known as juvenile phase or vegetative phase (in plants). Its duration varies in different organisms.
• Reproductive phase : When the organism starts reproducing in their life cycle, then this is known as reproductive phase
• Some plants flower seasonally whereas others flower throughout the year.
• Plants like biennial & annual type show clear cut vegetative, reproductive and senescent phases but in perennial species. It is very difficult to clearly define these phases.
• Like Bamboo species flower only once in their life time, generally after 50-100 years, produce large number of fruits and die. Another plant, Strobilanthus Kunthiana (neela kuranji) flowers once in 12 years. This plant flowered during Sept.-Oct.
• In animals the juvenile phase is followed by morphological & physiological changes prior to active reproductive behaviour.
• Among animals, such as birds living in nature lay eggs seasonally whereas birds in captivity lay eggs throughout the year.
• Placental females show changes in ovaries, accessory reproductive ducts and hormones during reproductive phase.
• Oestrus cycle is the term for cyclical changes during reproductive phase in nonprimates mammals like cows, sheep, deers, dogs, tiger, etc. While such changes in primates is called menstrual cycle like humans, apes, monkeys, etc.
• Senescence or old phase : In this phase, there is progressive deterioration in the body and rate of metabolism that ultimately leads to death.
In flowering plants, sperms are produced inside the germinating pollen grains of anthers, whereas egg is produced inside an embryo sac in ovule.
Events in sexual reproduction can be grouped into three distinct stages :
(i) Pre-fertilization events
(ii) Fertilization
(iii) Post-fertilization events
Pre-fertilization events
The event before the fusion of gametes is known as pre-fertilization events. Main prefertilization events are : gametogenesis and gamete transfer.
Gametogenesis
The process of formation of two types of gametes is known as gametogenesis. Gametes (male or female) are haploid cells.
In some algae, the two gametes are similar in appearance therefore, they are called homogametes or isogametes.
In majority of the sexually reproducing organisms gametes are different from each other. So, they are called heterogametes. In heterogametic organism, male gamete is called antherozoid or sperm and female gamete is called an egg or ovum.
Sperm and egg cells are gametes or sex cells containing only one set of chromosomes (haploid). Gametes are produced through meiotic division.
Homothallic and monoecious terms are used to denote the bisexual or hermaphrodite condition and heterothallic and dioecious terms are used to describe unisexual condition.
In flowering plants, the unisexual male flower is staminate i.e. bearing stamens while the female is pistillate or bearing pistils. In some flowering plants, both male and female flowers may be present on the same individuals (monoecious) or on separate individuals (dioecious). Cucurbits and coconuts are bisexual plants whereas papaya and date palm are unisexual plants.
Earthworm, sponge, tapeworm, and leech bear both male and female reproductive organs, and are called hermaphrodite or bisexual animals while cockroach is a unisexual animal.
In diploid organisms, specialized cells called meiocytes (gamete mother cells) undergo meiosis.
After meiosis, only one set of chromosomes goes into each gamete.
Table 1.3 : Chromosome numbers in meiocytes (diploid, 2n) and gametes (haploid, n) of some organisms.
Gametic transfer
Once the male and female gametes are formed inside the gametangia, they are allowed to come in contact with each other to facilitate their fusion (syngamy/fertilization).
In most of the cases, male gametes is motile (algae, bryophytes & pteridophytes) and the female gamete is stationary except for few fungi and algae in which both types of gametes are motile.
The transfer of gametes take place through different medium like water, air, etc. During their transfer, a large number of male gametes fail to reach the female gametes. For compensating the loss of male gametes, they are produced in large quantity than female gametes.
In seed plants, pollen grains are the carriers of male gametes and ovule has the egg or female gamete. Pollen grains produced in the anthers are transferred to the stigma by a process, known as pollination
Pollination is of two types : self pollination and cross pollination.
Self pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from anther to stigma within the same flower, e.g. Pea.
Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from anthers of male flowers to the stigma of female flower of different plant through the agency of air, water or animals particularly insects.
In dioecious animals, since male and female gametes are formed in different individuals, the organism must evolve a special mechanism for gamete transfer.
Fertilization
Fertilization is the complete and permanent fusion of two gametes from different or same parent to form a diploid zygote. This process is also called syngamy and is the most vital event of sexual reproduction.
The terms syngamy and fertilization are frequently used, interchangeably.
In case of animals, male gametes are transferred to female gamete by three distinct patterns depending on whether fertilization and embryonic development occur within or outside the maternal body. These are –
(i) External fertilization and External development.
(ii) Internal fertilization and External development.
(iii) Internal fertilization and Internal development.
External fertilization and External development
• In this type of fertilization, parents release sperms and eggs into the surrounding water, where fertilization takes place and zygotes develop into offspring. e.g., Obelia, Nereis, Labeo and Frog.
• Here the physical contact between the parents may or may not occur.
Internal fertilization and External development
• In this case, sperms are passed from the male into the female with an intromittent organ. The animals which have this type fertilization usually produce fewer zygotes because of protection provided by egg shells, e.g., Shark, Lizard, Birds etc.
Internal fertilization and Internal development
• In this case, fertilization process and the development of gametes take place internally. e.g., Mammals.
• There are some organisms in which the female gamete undergoes development to form new organisms without fertilization. This process is known as parthenogenesis e.g. rotifers, honeybees and some lizards.
• Parthenogenesis is of two types : natural and artificial. Natural parthenogenesis is a regular phenomenon in the history of some animals. Artificial parthenogenesis is the phenomenon of producing complete individual without fertilization.
Syngamy is the fusion of two entire gametes to form a zygote including the fusion of nuclei while fertilization includes all the associated events that ultimately lead to syngamy.
On the basis of source of fusion of gametes, syngamy is of two types : endogamy & exogamy.
(i) Endogamy : It includes the fusion of two gametes of the same parent which is selffertilization, e.g., Taenia.
(ii) Exogamy : It includes the fusion of gametes produced from different parents which is cross-fertilization, e.g., Frog, humans.
On the basis of structure of the fusing gametes, syngamy is of two types : isogamy & anisogamy.
(i) Isogamy : In case of isogamy, the fusing gametes are similar morphologically but behaviourally, different, e.g., Monocystis
(ii) Anisogamy (heterogamy) : In anisogamy, the gametes differ in form, size, structure and behaviour, e.g., frogs and humans.
Post-fertilization events
The events after the formation of zygote are known as post-fertilization events.
Two haploid gametes fuse to form a diploid zygote (2n). Zygote is the vital link that ensures continuity of species between organisms of one generation and the next.
After the formation of zygote, it develops into an embryo & process is known as embryogenesis
During embryogenesis, a new individual forms by the process of cell division and differentiation.
On the basis of a development of zygote, the animals are of two types : oviparous and viviparous.
The oviparous animals lay fertilized or unfertilized eggs in a safe place in the environment. These eggs are covered by hard calcareous shell. After passing incubation period, the young ones hatch out from the eggs. For example, reptiles & birds. The viviparous animals give birth to young ones. For example – Majority of mammals, including humans.
In flowering plants, the zygote is formed inside the ovule of the ovary. The ovary develops into fruit which develops a thick wall called pericarp. Under favourable condition, seeds germinate to produce new plants.
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Check Point
1. Which of the following parts in flowering parts are diploid ? Anther, Pollen, Male gamete, Ovary, Egg.
2. Give an example of a plant which flowers once in a 12 years.
3. Fill in the blanks : (i) Flowering plants in which male & female structures are found on the same plants are called.................... . (ii) ..................... is a form of animal sexual reproduction in which a sperm cell is united with an egg cell outside the body of the female species.
Fig. 1.8 : A few kinds of fruit showing seeds (S) and protective pericarp (P)
4. Fusion of two gametes dissimilar in size as in some species of Chlamydomonas is called anisogamous. (True or False)
EXERCISE - 1 | NCERT BASED QUESTIONS
1. In all the methods of asexual reproduction (1) offsprings produced are genetically identical to the parents. (2) offsprings produced are genetically different from the parents.
(3) offsprings produced may or may not be identical to the parents. (4) None of the above
2. In sexual reproduction, offsprings resemble the parents (1) structurally but not functionally. (2) functionally but not structurally. (3) Both structurally and functionally. (4) Neither structurally nor functionally.
3. Common method of asexual reproduction is by (1) regeneration (2) budding (3) archeocytes (4) gemmulation
4. Asexual reproduction takes place in (1) higher animals (2) lower animals (3) plants (4) All of these
5. As a result of binary fission number of individuals produced by one fission is (1) two (2) three (3) four (4) five
6. Fertilization is internal in (1) toads (2) frogs (3) dog fish (4) cat fish
7. Which type of reproduction is found in Hydra ? (1) Polyembryony (2) Sexual and asexual (3) Parthenogenesis (4) Encystment
8. Gemmule formation in sponges is helpful in (1) parthenogenesis
(2) sexual reproduction (3) only dissemination (4) asexual reproduction
9. What is the mode of reproduction in Amoeba ? (1) Binary fission only (2) Binary fission and multiple fission (3) Binary fission and conjugation (4) Multiple fission only
10. Binary fission is found in (1) Amoeba (2) Paramecium (3) Planaria (4) All of these
11. Which of the followings are exclusively viviparous ?
(1) Bony fishes (2) Cartilagenous fishes
(3) Sharks (4) Whales
12. The polyestrous mammal is (1) man (2) rabbit
(3) cat (4) horse
13. Development of an egg without fertilization is called (1) gametogenesis (2) metagenesis
(3) oogenesis (4) parthenogenesis
14. What is true in the process of fertilization ?
(1) Only one sperm reaches the egg and enters it.
(2) The entry of sperm activates the egg for completing meiosis.
(3) Two haploid nuclei fuse and immediately divide to produce two nuclei which are again haploid.
(4) Only the acrosome of the sperm enters the egg.
15. The function of egg cell is/are
(1) it supplies a haploid set of chromosomes to the future embryo.
(2) it provides most of the cytoplasm to the embryo.
(3) it supplies food reserves to the embryo.
(4) All the above
16. Two chief functions of leaves are (1) transpiration and respiration
(2) respiration and digestion
(3) photosynthesis and respiration
(4) photosynthesis and transpiration
17. Phyllotaxy is (1) mode of leaf arrangement on stem
(2) types of roots
(3) types of stem
(4) arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower
18. Raceme differs from spike in having
(1) bisexual flowers
(2) sessile flowers
(3) pedicillate flowers
(4) unisexual flowers
19. When the gynoecium is present in the topmost position of thalamus, the flower is known as (1) inferior (2) epigynous (3) perigynous (4) hypogynous
20. Zygomorphic flowers are (1) asymmetrical (2) monosymmetrical (3) completely symmetrical (4) None of the above
21. In epigynous flowers (1) ovary is superior (2) calyx, corolla and androecium are all superior (3) calyx, corolla and androecium are all inferior (4) only accessory whorls are inferior
22. Internode between androecium and gynoecium is called (1) anthophore (2) androphore (3) gynophore (4) carpophore
23. A true fruit is (1) a developed thalamus (2) a developed nucellus (3) a developed ovary (4) a developed ovule
24. Caryopsis is (1) one-seeded fruit (2) two-seeded fruit (3) four-seeded fruit (4) numerous-seeded fruit
25. Berry is a fruit which is commonly (1) fleshy and multi-seeded (2) fleshy and single-seeded (3) dry and multi-seeded (4) fleshy and single or multi-seeded
26. Pepo fruit is generally found in (1) cruciferae (2) cucurbitaceae (3) leguminosae (4) malvaceae
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27. A false fruit develops from (1) complete flower (2) ovary (3) any floral part excluding ovary (4) None of the above
28. The most common type of ovule in angiosperms is (1) anatropous (2) amphitropous (3) orthotropous (4) circinotropous
29. In angiospermic life cycle (1) sporophyte is dependent on gametophyte (2) gametophyte is dependent on sporophyte (3) both sporophyte and gametophyte are independent (4) both sporophyte and gametophyte are of equal status
30. In a normal embryosac, the ploidy level of egg cell, polar nuclei, synergids and secondary nucleus is (1) n, n, n, n respectively (2) n, n, n, 2n respectively (3) n, 2n, 2n, n respectively (4) n, 2n, 2n, 2n respectively
EXERCISE - 2 | Window to Competitive Exams
1. Woody perennial climbers are commonly called [BHU 95] (1) lianas (2) creepers (3) rhizomes (4) runners
2. Vegetative reproduction by layering is found in [AFMC'96] (1) jasmine (2) mango (3) rose (4) All of these
3. Ovules are not found enclosed in ovary in [DPMT 96] (1) thallophyta (2) bryophyta (3) gymnosperms (4) angiosperms
4. The most important characteristic of living organisms is [JH PMT 98] (1) growth (2) multiplication (3) protoplasm (4) movements
5. The plant material which is widely used in the preparation culture medium is [AIIMS'98] (1) Cycas revoluta (2) Cocus nucifera (3) Pinus longifolia (4) Borassus flabellifer
6. Fruits are not found in [Bihar CEE 99] (1) angiosperms (2) dicots (3) monocots (4) Cycas
7. Which one of the plants using ‘Foliar adventitious buds’ as method for vegetative propagation? [AIEEE'2000] (1) Banana (2) Ginger (3) Bryophyllum (4) Colocasia
8. Which branch of Botany deals with the study of vegetable crops ? [CBSE'0l] (1) Olericulture (2) Silviculture (3) Agronomy (4) Agrostology
9. The approximate number of plants so far discovered are [CG PMT 2001]
(4) underground bud consisting of fleshy swollen storage food.
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“‘You swear to that, Mr. Lydgate?’ asked the coroner”
“But the 23rd of January,” here insinuated the coroner; “you made an appointment with the deceased then?”
“Certainly not,” he replied.
“But you met her on that day?”
“Most emphatically no,” he replied quietly. “I went down to Edbrooke Castle, my brother’s place in Lincolnshire, on the 20th of last month, and only got back to town about three days ago.”
“You swear to that, Mr. Lydgate?” asked the coroner.
“I do, indeed, and there are a score of witnesses to bear me out. The family, the house-party, the servants.”
He tried to dominate his own excitement. I suppose, poor man, he had only just realised that certain horrible suspicions had been resting upon him. His solicitor pacified him, and presently he sat
down, whilst I must say that everyone there present was relieved at the thought that the handsome young athlete was not a murderer, after all. To look at him it certainly seemed preposterous.
But then, of course, there was the deadlock, and as there were no more witnesses to be heard, no new facts to elucidate, the jury returned the usual verdict against some person or persons unknown; and we, the keenly interested spectators, were left to face the problem—Who murdered Mary Nicholls, and where was her sister Susan?
A the verdict we found our way back to our lodgings. Lady Molly tramped along silently, with that deep furrow between her brows which I knew meant that she was deep in thought.
“Now we’ll have some tea,” I said, with a sigh of relief, as soon as we entered the cottage door.
“No, you won’t,” replied my lady, dryly. “I am going to write out a telegram, and we’ll go straight on to Canterbury and send it from there.”
“To Canterbury!” I gasped. “Two hours’ walk at least, for I don’t suppose we can get a trap, and it is past three o’clock. Why not send your telegram from Ninescore?”
“Mary, you are stupid,” was all the reply I got.
She wrote out two telegrams—one of which was at least three dozen words long—and, once more calling to me to come along, we set out for Canterbury.
I was tea-less, cross, and puzzled. Lady Molly was alert, cheerful, and irritatingly active.
We reached the first telegraph office a little before five. My lady sent the telegram without condescending to tell me anything of its destination or contents; then she took me to the Castle Hotel and graciously offered me tea.
“May I be allowed to inquire whether you propose tramping back to Ninescore to-night?” I asked with a slight touch of sarcasm, as I really felt put out.
“No, Mary,” she replied, quietly munching a bit of Sally Lunn; “I have engaged a couple of rooms at this hotel and wired the chief that any message will find us here to-morrow morning.”
After that there was nothing for it but quietude, patience, and finally supper and bed.
The next morning my lady walked into my room before I had finished dressing. She had a newspaper in her hand, and threw it down on the bed as she said calmly:
“It was in the evening paper all right last night. I think we shall be in time.”
No use asking her what “it” meant. It was easier to pick up the paper, which I did. It was a late edition of one of the leading London evening shockers, and at once the front page, with its startling headline, attracted my attention:
THE NINESCORE MYSTERY
MARY NICHOLLS’S BABY DYING
Then, below that, a short paragraph:—
“We regret to learn that the little baby daughter of the unfortunate girl who was murdered recently at Ash Court, Ninescore, Kent, under such terrible and mysterious circumstances, is very seriously ill at the cottage of Mrs. Williams, in whose charge she is. The local doctor who visited her to-day declares that she cannot last more than a few hours. At the time of going to press the nature of the child’s complaint was not known to our special representative at Ninescore.”
“What does this mean?” I gasped.
But before she could reply there was a knock at the door.
“A telegram for Miss Granard,” said the voice of the hall-porter.
“Quick, Mary,” said Lady Molly, eagerly. “I told the chief and also Meisures to wire here and to you.”
The telegram turned out to have come from Ninescore, and was signed “Meisures.” Lady Molly read it out aloud:
“Mary Nicholls arrived here this morning. Detained her at station. Come at once.”
“Mary Nicholls! I don’t understand,” was all I could contrive to say.
But she only replied:
“I knew it! I knew it! Oh, Mary, what a wonderful thing is human nature, and how I thank Heaven that gave me a knowledge of it!”
She made me get dressed all in a hurry, and then we swallowed some breakfast hastily whilst a fly was being got for us. I had, perforce, to satisfy my curiosity from my own inner consciousness. Lady Molly was too absorbed to take any notice of me. Evidently the chief knew what she had done and approved of it: the telegram from Meisures pointed to that.
My lady had suddenly become a personality. Dressed very quietly, and in a smart close-fitting hat, she looked years older than her age, owing also to the seriousness of her mien.
The fly took us to Ninescore fairly quickly At the little police-station we found Meisures awaiting us. He had Elliott and Pegram from the Yard with him. They had obviously got their orders, for all three of them were mighty deferential.
“The woman is Mary Nicholls, right enough,” said Meisures, as Lady Molly brushed quickly past him, “the woman who was supposed to have been murdered. It’s that silly bogus paragraph about the infant brought her out of her hiding-place. I wonder how it got in,” he added blandly; “the child is well enough.”
“I wonder,” said Lady Molly, whilst a smile—the first I had seen that morning—lit up her pretty face.
“I suppose the other sister will turn up too, presently,” rejoined Elliott. “Pretty lot of trouble we shall have now. If Mary Nicholls is alive and kickin’, who was murdered at Ash Court, say I?”
“I wonder,” said Lady Molly, with the same charming smile.
Then she went in to see Mary Nicholls.
The Reverend Octavius Ludlow was sitting beside the girl, who seemed in great distress, for she was crying bitterly.
Lady Molly asked Elliott and the others to remain in the passage whilst she herself went into the room, I following behind her.
When the door was shut, she went up to Mary Nicholls, and assuming a hard and severe manner, she said:
“Well, you have at last made up your mind, have you, Nicholls? I suppose you know that we have applied for a warrant for your arrest?”
The woman gave a shriek which unmistakably was one of fear.
“My arrest?” she gasped. “What for?”
“The murder of your sister Susan.”
“ ’Twasn’t me!” she said quickly “Then Susan is dead?” retorted Lady Molly, quietly. Mary saw that she had betrayed herself. She gave Lady Molly a look of agonised horror, then turned as white as a sheet and would have fallen had not the Reverend Octavius Ludlow gently led her to a chair.
“It wasn’t me,” she repeated, with a heart-broken sob. “That will be for you to prove,” said Lady Molly dryly. “The child cannot now, of course, remain with Mrs. Williams; she will be removed to the workhouse, and——”
“No, that she shan’t be,” said the mother excitedly. “She shan’t be, I tell you. The workhouse, indeed,” she added in a paroxysm of hysterical tears, “and her father a lord!”
“The woman gave a shriek which unmistakably was one of fear”
The reverend gentleman and I gasped in astonishment; but Lady Molly had worked up to this climax so ingeniously that it was obvious she had guessed it all along, and had merely led Mary Nicholls on in order to get this admission from her.
How well she had known human nature in pitting the child against the sweetheart! Mary Nicholls was ready enough to hide herself, to part from her child even for a while, in order to save the man she had once loved from the consequences of his crime; but when she heard that her child was dying, she no longer could bear to leave it among strangers, and when Lady Molly taunted her with the workhouse, she exclaimed in her maternal pride:
“The workhouse! And her father a lord!”
Driven into a corner, she confessed the whole truth.
Lord Edbrooke, then Mr. Lydgate, was the father of her child. Knowing this, her sister Susan had, for over a year now, systematically blackmailed the unfortunate man—not altogether, it seems, without Mary’s connivance. In January last she got him to come down to Ninescore under the distinct promise that Mary would meet him and hand over to him the letters she had received from him, as well as the ring he had given her, in exchange for the sum of £5,000.
The meeting-place was arranged, but at the last moment Mary was afraid to go in the dark. Susan, nothing daunted, but anxious about her own reputation in case she should be seen talking to a man so late at night, put on Mary’s dress, took the ring and the letters, also her sister’s purse, and went to meet Lord Edbrooke.
What happened at that interview no one will ever know. It ended with the murder of the blackmailer. I suppose the fact that Susan had, in a measure, begun by impersonating her sister, gave the murderer the first thought of confusing the identity of his victim by the horrible device of burying the body in the slimy mud. Anyway, he almost did succeed in hoodwinking the police, and would have done so entirely but for Lady Molly’s strange intuition in the matter
After his crime he ran instinctively to Mary’s cottage. He had to make a clean breast of it to her, as, without her help, he was a doomed man.
So he persuaded her to go away from home and to leave no clue or trace of herself or her sister in Ninescore. With the help of money which he would give her, she could begin life anew somewhere else, and no doubt he deluded the unfortunate girl with promises that her child should be restored to her very soon.
Thus he enticed Mary Nicholls away, who would have been the great and all-important witness against him the moment his crime was discovered. A girl of Mary’s type and class instinctively obeys the man she has once loved, the man who is the father of her child. She consented to disappear and to allow all the world to believe that she had been murdered by some unknown miscreant.
Then the murderer quietly returned to his luxurious home at Edbrooke Castle, unsuspected. No one had thought of mentioning his name in connection with that of Mary Nicholls. In the days when he used to come down to Ash Court he was Mr. Lydgate, and, when he became a peer, sleepy, out-of-the-way Ninescore ceased to think of him.
Perhaps Mr. Lionel Lydgate knew all about his brother’s association with the village girl. From his attitude at the inquest I should say he did, but of course he would not betray his own brother unless forced to do so.
Now, of course, the whole aspect of the case was changed: the veil of mystery had been torn asunder owing to the insight, the marvellous intuition, of a woman who, in my opinion, is the most wonderful psychologist of her time.
You know the sequel. Our fellows at the Yard, aided by the local police, took their lead from Lady Molly, and began their investigations of Lord Edbrooke’s movements on or about the 23rd of January.
Even their preliminary inquiries revealed the fact that his lordship had left Edbrooke Castle on the 21st. He went up to town, saying to his wife and household that he was called away on business, and not even taking his valet with him. He put up at the Langham Hotel.
But here police investigations came to an abrupt ending. Lord Edbrooke evidently got wind of them. Anyway, the day after Lady Molly so cleverly enticed Mary Nicholls out of her hiding-place, and surprised her into an admission of the truth, the unfortunate man
threw himself in front of the express train at Grantham railway station, and was instantly killed. Human justice cannot reach him now!
But don’t tell me that a man would have thought of that bogus paragraph, or of the taunt which stung the motherly pride of the village girl to the quick, and thus wrung from her an admission which no amount of male ingenuity would ever have obtained.
II.
THE FREWIN MINIATURES
A , mind you, Lady Molly’s methods in connection with the Ninescore mystery were not altogether approved of at the Yard, nevertheless, her shrewdness and ingenuity in the matter were so undoubted that they earned for her a reputation, then and there, which placed her in the foremost rank of the force. And presently, when everyone—public and police alike—were set by the ears over the Frewin miniatures, and a reward of 1,000 guineas was offered for information that would lead to the apprehension of the thief, the chief, of his own accord and without any hesitation, offered the job to her.
I don’t know much about so-called works of art myself, but you can’t be in the detective force, female or otherwise, without knowing something of the value of most things, and I don’t think that Mr Frewin put an excessive value on his Englehearts when he stated that they were worth £10,000. There were eight of them, all on ivory, about three to four inches high, and they were said to be the most perfect specimens of their kind. Mr. Frewin himself had had an offer for them, less than two years ago, of 200,000 francs from the trustees of the Louvre, which offer, mind you, he had refused. I dare say you know that he was an immensely wealthy man, a great collector himself, as well as dealer, and that several of the most unique and most highly priced works of art found their way into his private collection. Among them, of course, the Engleheart miniatures were the most noteworthy.
For some time before his death Mr. Frewin had been a great invalid, and for over two years he had not been able to go beyond the boundary of his charming property, Blatchley House, near Brighton.
There is a sad story in connection with the serious illness of Mr. Frewin—an illness which, if you remember, has since resulted in the poor old gentleman’s death. He had an only son, a young man on
whom the old art-dealer had lavished all the education and, subsequently, all the social advantages which money could give. The boy was exceptionally good-looking, and had inherited from his mother a great charm of manner which made him very popular. The Honourable Mrs. Frewin is the daughter of an English peer, more endowed with physical attributes than with worldly goods. Besides that, she is an exceptionally beautiful woman, has a glorious voice, is a fine violinist, and is no mean water-colour artist, having more than once exhibited at the Royal Academy.
Unfortunately, at one time, young Frewin had got into very bad company, made many debts, some of which were quite unavowable, and there were rumours current at the time to the effect that had the police got wind of certain transactions in connection with a brother officer’s cheque, a very unpleasant prosecution would have followed. Be that as it may, young Lionel Frewin had to quit his regiment, and presently he went off to Canada, where he is supposed to have gone in for farming. According to the story related by some of the servants at Blatchley House, there were violent scenes between father and son before the former consented to pay some of the young spendthrift’s most pressing debts, and then find the further sum of money which was to enable young Frewin to commence a new life in the colonies.
Mrs. Frewin, of course, took the matter very much to heart. She was a dainty, refined, artistic creature, who idolised her only son, but she had evidently no influence whatever over her husband, who, in common with certain English families of Jewish extraction, had an extraordinary hardness of character where the integrity of his own business fame was concerned. He absolutely never forgave his son what he considered a slur cast upon his name by the young spendthrift; he packed him off to Canada, and openly told him that he was to expect nothing further from him. All the Frewin money and the priceless art collection would be left by will to a nephew, James Hyam, whose honour and general conduct had always been beyond reproach.
That Mr. Frewin really took his hitherto idolised son’s defalcations very much to heart was shown by the fact that the poor old man’s health completely broke down after that. He had an apoplectic fit,
and, although he somewhat recovered, he always remained an invalid.
His eyesight and brain power were distinctly enfeebled, and about nine months ago he had a renewed seizure, which resulted in paralysis first, and subsequently in his death. The greatest, if not the only, joy the poor old man had during the two years which he spent pinned to an invalid chair was his art collection. Blatchley House was a perfect art museum, and the invalid would have his chair wheeled up and down the great hall and along the rooms where his pictures and china and, above all, where his priceless miniatures were stored. He took an enormous pride in these, and it was, I think, with a view to brightening him up a little that Mrs. Frewin invited Monsieur de Colinville—who had always been a great friend of her husband— to come and stay at Blatchley. Of course, there is no greater connoisseur of art anywhere than that distinguished Frenchman, and it was through him that the celebrated offer of £8,000 was made by the Louvre for the Engleheart miniatures.
Though, of course, the invalid declined the offer, he took a great pleasure and pride in the fact that it had been made, as, in addition to Monsieur de Colinville himself, several members of the committee of art advisers to the Louvre came over from Paris in order to try and persuade Mr. Frewin to sell his unique treasures.
However, the invalid was obdurate about that. He was not in want of money, and the celebrated Frewin art collection would go intact to his widow for her life, and then to his heir, Mr. James Hyam, a great connoisseur himself and art dealer of St. Petersburg and London.
It was really a merciful dispensation of Providence that the old man never knew of the disappearance of his valued miniatures. By the time that extraordinary mystery had come to light he was dead.
On the evening of January the 14th, at half-past eight, Mr. Frewin had a third paralytic seizure, from which he never recovered. His valet, Kennet, and his two nurses were with him at the time, and Mrs. Frewin, quickly apprised of the terrible event, flew to his bedside, whilst the motor was at once despatched for the doctor. About an hour or two later the dying man seemed to rally somewhat, but he appeared very restless and agitated, and his eyes were roaming anxiously about the room.
“I expect it is his precious miniatures he wants,” said Nurse Dawson. “He is always quiet when he can play with them.”
She reached for the large, leather case which contained the priceless art treasures, and, opening it, placed it on the bed beside the patient. Mr. Frewin, however, was obviously too near death to care even for his favourite toy. He fingered the miniatures with trembling hands for a few moments, and then sank back exhausted on the pillows.
“He is dying,” said the doctor quietly, turning to Mrs. Frewin.
“I have something to say to him,” she then said. “Can I remain alone with him for a few minutes?”
“Certainly,” said the doctor, as he himself discreetly retired; “but I think one of the nurses had better remain within earshot.”
Nurse Dawson, it appeared, remained within earshot to some purpose, for she overheard what Mrs. Frewin was saying to her dying husband.
“It is about Lionel—your only son,” she said. “Can you understand what I say?”
The sick man nodded.
“You remember that he is in Brighton, staying with Alicia. I can go and fetch him in the motor if you will consent to see him.”
Again the dying man nodded. I suppose Mrs. Frewin took this to mean acquiescence, for the next moment she rang for John Chipps, the butler, and gave him instructions to order her motor at once. She then kissed the patient on the forehead and prepared to leave the room; but just before she did so, her eyes lighted on the case of miniatures, and she said to Kennet, the valet:
“Give these to Chipps, and tell him to put them in the library.”
She then went to put on her furs preparatory to going out. When she was quite ready she met Chipps on the landing, who had just come up to tell her that the motor was at the door. He had in his hand the case of miniatures which Kennet had given him.
“Put the case on the library table, Chipps, when you go down,” she said.
“Yes, madam,” he replied.
He followed her downstairs, then slipped into the library, put the case on the table as he had been directed, after which he saw his
mistress into the motor, and finally closed the front door
A an hour later Mrs. Frewin came back, but without her son. It transpired afterwards that the young man was more vindictive than his father; he refused to go to the latter’s bedside in order to be reconciled at the eleventh hour to a man who then had no longer either his wits or his physical senses about him. However, the dying man was spared the knowledge of his son’s irreconcilable conduct, for, after a long and wearisome night passed in a state of coma, he died at about 6.0 a.m.
It was quite late the following afternoon when Mrs. Frewin suddenly recollected the case of miniatures, which should have been locked in their accustomed cabinet. She strolled leisurely into the library—she was very fatigued and worn out with the long vigil and the sorrow and anxiety she had just gone through. A quarter of an hour later John Chipps found her in the same room, sitting dazed and almost fainting in an arm-chair. In response to the old butler’s anxious query, she murmured:
“The miniatures—where are they?”
Scared at the abruptness of the query and at his mistress’s changed tone of voice, Chipps gazed quickly around him.
“You told me to put them on the table, ma’am,” he murmured, “and I did so. They certainly don’t seem to be in the room now——” he added, with a sudden feeling of terror
“Run and ask one of the nurses at once if the case was taken up to Mr. Frewin’s room during the night?”
Chipps, needless to say, did not wait to be told twice. He was beginning to feel very anxious. He spoke to Kennet and also to the two nurses, and asked them if, by any chance, the miniatures were in the late master’s room. To this Kennet and the nurses replied in the negative. The last they had seen of the miniatures was when Chipps took them from the valet and followed his mistress downstairs with the case in his hands.
The poor old butler was in despair; the cook was in hysterics, and consternation reigned throughout the house. The disappearance of
the miniatures caused almost a greater excitement than the death of the master, who had been a dying man so long that he was almost a stranger to the servants at Blatchley.
Mrs. Frewin was the first to recover her presence of mind.
“Send a motor at once to the police-station at Brighton,” she said very calmly, as soon as she completely realised that the miniatures were nowhere to be found. “It is my duty to see that this matter is thoroughly gone into at once.”
Within half an hour of the discovery of the theft, Detective Inspector Hankin and Police Constable McLeod had both arrived from Brighton, having availed themselves of Mrs. Frewin’s motor. They are shrewd men, both of them, and it did not take them many minutes before they had made up their minds how the robbery had taken place. By whom it was done was quite another matter, and would take some time and some ingenuity to find out.
What Detective Inspector Hankin had gathered was this: While John Chipps saw his mistress into the motor, the front door of the house had, of necessity, been left wide open. The motor then made a start, but after a few paces it stopped, and Mrs. Frewin put her head out of the window and shouted to Chipps some instructions with regard to the nurses’ evening collation, which, in view of Mr. Frewin’s state, she feared might be forgotten. Chipps, being an elderly man and a little deaf, did not hear her voice distinctly, so he ran up to the motor, and she repeated her instructions to him. In Inspector Hankin’s mind there was no doubt that the thief, who must have been hanging about the shrubbery that evening, took that opportunity to sneak into the house, then to hide himself in a convenient spot until he could find an opportunity for the robbery which he had in view.
The butler declared that, when he returned, he saw nothing unusual. He had only been gone a little over a minute; he then fastened and bolted the front door, and, according to his usual custom, he put up all the shutters of the ground-floor windows, including, of course, those in the library. He had no light with him when he did this accustomed round, for, of course, he knew his way well enough in the dark, and the electric chandelier in the hall gave him what light he wanted.
While he was putting up the shutters, Chipps was giving no particular thought to the miniatures, but, strangely enough, he seems to have thought of them about an hour later, when most of the servants had gone to bed and he was waiting up for his mistress. He then, quite casually and almost absent-mindedly, when crossing the hall, turned the key of the library door, thus locking it from the outside.
Of course, throughout all this we must remember that Blatchley House was not in its normal state that night, since its master was actually dying in a room on the floor above the library The two nurses and Kennet, the valet, were all awake, and with him during the whole of that night. Kennet certainly was in and out of the room several times, having to run down and fetch various things required by the doctor or the nurses. In order to do this he did not use the principal staircase, nor did he have to cross the hall, but, as far as the upper landing and the secondary stairs were concerned, he certainly had not noticed anything unusual or suspicious; whilst when Mrs. Frewin came home, she went straight up to the first floor, and certainly noticed nothing in any way to arouse her suspicions. But, of course, this meant very little, as she certainly must have been too upset and agitated to see anything.
The servants were not apprised of the death of their master until after their breakfast. In the meanwhile Emily, the housemaid, had been in, as usual, to “do” the library. She distinctly noticed, when she first went in, that none of the shutters were up and that one of the windows was open. She thought at the time that someone must have been in the room before her, and meant to ask Chipps about it, when the news of the master’s death drove all thoughts of open windows from her mind. Strangely enough, when Hankin questioned her more closely about it, and she had had time to recollect everything more clearly, she made the extraordinary statement that she certainly had noticed that the door of the library was locked on the outside when she first went into the room, the key being in the lock.
“Then, didn’t it strike you as very funny,” asked Hankin, “that the door was locked on the outside, and yet that the shutters were unbarred and one of the windows was open?”
“Yes, I did seem to think of that,” replied Emily, with that pleasant vagueness peculiar to her class; “but then, the room did not look like burglars—it was quite tidy, just as it had been left last night, and burglars always seem to leave a great mess behind, else I should have noticed,” she added, with offended dignity.
“But did you not see that the miniatures were not in their usual place?”
“Oh, they often wasn’t in the cabinet, as the master used to ask for them sometimes to be brought to his room.”
That was, of course, indisputable. It was clearly evident that the burglar had had plenty of chances to make good his escape. You see, the actual time when the miscreant must have sneaked into the room had now been narrowed down to about an hour and a half, between the time when Mrs. Frewin finally left in her motor to about an hour later, when Chipps turned the key in the door of the library and thus undoubtedly locked the thief in. At what precise time of the night he effected his escape could not anyhow be ascertained. It must have been after Mrs. Frewin came back again, as Hankin held that she or her chauffeur would have noticed that one of the library windows was open. This opinion was not shared by Elliott from the Yard, who helped in the investigation of this mysterious crime, as Mrs. Frewin was certainly very agitated and upset that evening, and her powers of perception would necessarily be blunted. As for the chauffeur: we all know that the strong headlights on a motor are so dazzling that nothing can be seen outside their blinding circle of light.
Be that as it may, it remained doubtful when the thief made good his escape. It was easy enough to effect, and, as there is a square of flagstones in front of the main door and just below the library windows, the thief left not the slightest trace of footprints, whilst the drop from the window is less than eight feet.
What was strange in the whole case, and struck Detective Hankin immediately, was the fact that the burglar, whoever he was, must have known a great deal about the house and its ways. He also must have had a definite purpose in his mind not usually to be found in the brain of a common housebreaker. He must have meant to steal the miniatures and nothing else, since he made his way straight to the library, and, having secured the booty, at once made good his
escape without trying to get any other article which could more easily be disposed of than works of art.
You may imagine, therefore, how delicate a task now confronted Inspector Hankin. You see, he had questioned everyone in the house, including Mr. Frewin’s valet and nurses, and from them he casually heard of Mrs. Frewin’s parting words to her dying husband and of her mention of the scapegrace son, who was evidently in the immediate neighbourhood, and whom she wished to come and see his father. Mrs. Frewin, closely questioned by the detective, admitted that her son was staying in Brighton, and that she saw him that very evening.
“Mr. Lionel Frewin is staying at the Metropole Hotel,” she said coldly, “and he was dining with my sister, Lady Steyne, last night. He was in the house at Sussex Square when I arrived in my motor,” she added hastily, guessing, perhaps, the unavowed suspicion which had arisen in Hankin’s mind, “and he was still there when I left. I drove home very fast, naturally, as my husband’s condition was known to me to be quite hopeless, and that he was not expected to live more than perhaps a few hours. We covered the seven miles between this house and that of my sister in less than a quarter of an hour.”
This statement of Mrs. Frewin’s was, if you remember, fully confirmed both by her sister and her brother-in-law, Lady Steyne and Sir Michael. There was no doubt that young Lionel Frewin was staying at the Hotel Metropole in Brighton, that he was that evening dining with the Steynes at Sussex Square when his mother arrived in her motor. Mrs. Frewin stayed about an hour, during which time she, presumably, tried to influence her son to go back to Blatchley with her in order to see his dying father. Of course, what exactly happened at that family interview none of the four people present was inclined to reveal. Against that both Sir Michael and Lady Steyne were prepared to swear that Mr. Lionel Frewin was in the house when his mother arrived, and that he did not leave them until long after she had driven away.
There lay the hitch, you see, for already the public jumped to conclusions, and, terribly prejudiced as it is in a case of this sort, it had made up its mind that Mr. Lionel Frewin, once more pressed for
money, had stolen his father’s precious miniatures in order to sell them in America for a high sum. Everyone’s sympathy was dead against the young son who refused to be reconciled to his father, although the latter was dying.
According to one of the footmen in Lady Steyne’s employ, who had taken whiskies and sodas in while the interview between Mrs. Frewin and her son was taking place, Mr. Lionel had said very testily:
“It’s all very well, mother, but that is sheer sentimentality. The guv’nor threw me on my beam ends when a little kindness and help would have meant a different future to me; he chose to break my life because of some early peccadilloes—and I am not going to fawn round him and play the hypocrite when he has no intention of altering his will and has cut me off with a shilling. He must be half imbecile by now, and won’t know me anyway.”
But with all this, and with public opinion so dead against him, it was quite impossible to bring the crime home to the young man. The burglar, whoever he was, must have sneaked into the library some time before Chipps closed the door on the outside, since it was still so found by Emily the following morning. Thereupon the public, determined that Lionel Frewin should in some way be implicated in the theft, made up its mind that the doting mother, hearing of her son’s woeful want of money, stole the miniatures herself that night and gave them to him.
