﻿438 
  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  nula 
  rotimdifolia 
  may 
  be 
  quoted 
  as 
  instances, 
  

   and 
  every 
  botanist 
  who 
  has 
  visited 
  alpine 
  re- 
  

   gions 
  may 
  add 
  other 
  examples. 
  Even 
  the 
  edel- 
  

   weiss 
  of 
  the 
  Swiss 
  Alps, 
  Gnaplialium 
  Leonto- 
  

   podium, 
  loses 
  its 
  alpine 
  characters, 
  if 
  cultivated 
  

   in 
  lowland 
  gardens. 
  Between 
  such 
  lowland 
  and 
  

   alpine 
  forms 
  intermediates 
  regularly 
  occur. 
  

   They 
  may 
  be 
  met 
  with 
  whenever 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  

   species 
  extends 
  from 
  the 
  plains 
  upward 
  to 
  the 
  

   limit 
  of 
  eternal 
  snow. 
  

  

  In 
  this 
  case 
  the 
  systematists 
  formerly 
  enu- 
  

   merated 
  the 
  alpine 
  plants 
  as 
  forma 
  alpestris, 
  but 
  

   whenever 
  the 
  intermediate 
  is 
  lacking 
  the 
  term 
  

   varietas 
  alpestris 
  was 
  often 
  made 
  use 
  of. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  simply 
  impossible 
  to 
  decide 
  concerning 
  

   the 
  real 
  relation 
  between 
  the 
  alpine 
  and 
  low- 
  

   land 
  types 
  without 
  experiments. 
  About 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  century 
  it 
  was 
  quite 
  a 
  com- 
  

   mon 
  thing 
  to 
  collect 
  plants 
  not 
  only 
  for 
  her- 
  

   barium-material, 
  but 
  also 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  

   planting 
  them 
  in 
  gardens 
  and 
  thus 
  to 
  observe 
  

   their 
  behavior 
  under 
  new 
  conditions. 
  This 
  

   was 
  done 
  with 
  the 
  acknowledged 
  purpose 
  

   of 
  investigating 
  the 
  systematic 
  significance 
  of 
  

   observed 
  divergencies. 
  Whenever 
  these 
  held 
  

   good 
  in 
  the 
  garden 
  they 
  were 
  considered 
  to 
  be 
  

   reliable, 
  but 
  if 
  they 
  disappeared 
  they 
  were 
  re- 
  

   garded 
  as 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  climatic 
  conditions, 
  

   or 
  of 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  soil 
  or 
  nourishment. 
  Be- 
  

  

  