﻿582 
  Mutations 
  

  

  But 
  it 
  seems 
  probable, 
  and 
  is 
  especially 
  proved 
  

   in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  evening-primroses, 
  that 
  all 
  

   or 
  the 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  representatives 
  of 
  the 
  

   whole 
  strain 
  have 
  the 
  same 
  tendency 
  to 
  mutate. 
  

   If 
  this 
  were 
  a 
  general 
  rule, 
  it 
  would 
  suffice 
  to 
  

   take 
  some 
  pure 
  seeds 
  from 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  

   presumed 
  parents 
  and 
  to 
  sow 
  and 
  multiply 
  the 
  

   individuals 
  to 
  such 
  an 
  extent 
  that 
  the 
  mutation 
  

   might 
  have 
  a 
  chance 
  to 
  be 
  repeated. 
  

  

  Unfortunately, 
  this 
  has 
  not 
  as 
  yet 
  been 
  done, 
  

   but 
  in 
  my 
  opinion 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  the 
  first 
  effort 
  of 
  

   any 
  one 
  who 
  has 
  the 
  good 
  luck 
  to 
  discover 
  a 
  new 
  

   wild 
  mutation. 
  Specimens 
  of 
  the 
  parents 
  

   should 
  be 
  transplanted 
  into 
  a 
  garden 
  and 
  fertil- 
  

   ized 
  under 
  isolated 
  conditions. 
  Seeds 
  saved 
  

   from 
  the 
  wild 
  plant 
  would 
  have 
  little 
  worth, 
  as 
  

   they 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  partly 
  fertilized 
  by 
  the 
  

   new 
  type 
  itself. 
  

  

  After 
  this 
  somewhat 
  lengthy 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  

   value 
  of 
  observations 
  surrounding 
  the 
  discovery 
  

   of 
  new 
  wild 
  mutations, 
  we 
  now 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  de- 
  

   scription 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  interesting 
  cases. 
  

   As 
  a 
  first 
  example, 
  I 
  will 
  take 
  the 
  globular- 
  

   fruited 
  shepherd's 
  purse, 
  described 
  by 
  Solms- 
  

   Laubach 
  as 
  Capsella 
  heeyeri. 
  Professor 
  

   Heeger 
  discovered 
  one 
  plant 
  with 
  deviating 
  

   fruits, 
  in 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  common 
  shepherd's 
  purses 
  

   in 
  the 
  market-place 
  near 
  Landau 
  in 
  Germany, 
  

   in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1897. 
  They 
  were 
  nearly 
  spher- 
  

  

  