102 MB. G. KING ON A. SPORT IN PABITIUM TBICUSPE. 



terest for the opening of the flowers, anxious to know whether 

 there would be any difference in them. Just before they opened 

 I was obliged to leave home on duty ; but I enjoined my specimen- 

 collector to dry a number of each. Scarcely, however, had they 

 begun to open, when the parent stem was blown down close by 

 the ground by a storm of wind, the drooping lateral branch being 

 entirely divided about a foot above its entry into the soil. The 

 bush formed by the branch after its emergence, however, re- 

 mained quite unhurt, showing that where covered by the soil, the 

 branch had formed independent roots. This flowered freely ; and 

 specimens are now sent, as well as a flower from the parent, 

 gathered before its fall. 



Since the fall of the parent (the stem of which was quite 

 hollow), a large crop of twigs bearing leaves of the normal form 

 has sprung up from the stool ; but none of these had offered to 

 flower up to the time I left Seharunpore. Some months after 

 the accident to the main trunk, I was much interested to find a 

 bud appearing on the limb forming the sport, about 2 inches 

 above the point of its emergence from the ground. This bud I 

 carefully protected. It expanded very slowly ; but in the course 

 of three months it grew into a twig bearing leaves exactly like 

 those of the parent. But for the unfortunate accident to the 

 parent, I intended to sow seeds of both itself and the sport, in 

 order to see whether the seedlings would turn out true. 



Cuttings made from the two forms are perfectly true* There 

 are in Seharunpore Garden numerous plants of both forms which 

 have originated from cuttings either of the parent or its sport. 

 These are of different ages ; but in none of them is there the 

 slightest tendency to produce leaves of two forms. They take 

 either entirely after the parent or entirely after the sport. To 

 satisfy myself on the point, I had a number of cuttings taken 

 from the parent and from the sport, and put into pots under 

 my own eye ; and of those that struck, all were all quite true to 

 their origin. I also examined a bed of cuttings of the former 

 year without finding on one of them the slightest tendency to di- 

 morphism. So long as the two forms continue to be propagated 

 by cuttings, there appears to be every probability of their remain- 

 ing distinct. I shall try to settle whether the same result will 

 be obtained by seed. 



I make no remark on the flowers of the two forms, but simply 

 aend specimens of each. 



