1909] The Ottawa Naturalist. 37 



plums to ameliorate the skin; the breeding of red currants for 

 greater mildness, and black currants for size; the raising of 

 seedlings of the European gooseberry to obtain varieties more 

 immune from disease; and the raising of seedling grapes from 

 the many hybrid forms already in existence. 



In the discussion which followed, Mr. Whyte stated it as 

 his belief that the growing of seedlings under very favourable 

 conditions would change, and cause to be perpetuated, the 

 characteristics of a seedling in respect to vigor of plant, size and 

 flavor of fruit, etc. In other words, that after a seed had 

 germinated the merits of that seedling would not necessarily 

 depend on inherited characteristics, but would be largely in- 

 fluenced by the environment up to time of fruiting. A curious 

 freak was shown by Mr. Geo. H. Clark, it being a cane of Cuthbert 

 raspberry which instead of being of the usual shape w^as quite 

 flattened out, having grown this way. 



In order to ensure a record being kept of the meetings of 

 the Botanical Branch, it was decided to recommend a Botanical 

 Associate Editor to the new council of the Club, Mr. W. T. 

 Macoun being nominated for this office. 



W. T. M. 



CANADIAN SPECIES OF THALICTRUM. II. 



By Edward L. Greene. 



The species discussed in our first paper, namely, T. 

 alpinum* is in many particulars widely different from every 

 other; so very different that no member of any other group 

 leads up to it. The transition to any others is abrupt; there- 

 fore it is unimportant what other meadow rue be selected to 

 immediately succeed it in a systematic sequence of the species. 

 It may as well be that other northern type, or aggregation, 

 that passes under the name of T. dioicum. 



Out of the great diversity of plants so designated in books 

 and herbaria there is not one that can to any certainty, or even 

 with any high probability, be identified with that of Linnaeus. 

 There is nothing in the name itself that is indicative. Almost 

 all meadow rues, certainly the greater proportion of the American 

 species, are dioecious. Moreover, the short Linnaeus description 

 would be wholly inadequate to the determination of his type, 

 even if the description were not also in two points false for 

 anything that botanists have heretofore called T. dioicum; for 

 he says that both the sepals and the filaments of his plant are 



* cf. Ott. Nat. xxiii. 



