88 



relationship, but as a mere accidental feature, and accordingly GOETHE'S 

 treatment looks as if ha compared two things, which by nature are totally 

 different and incapable of comparison. But, herein I do not concur in the 

 general opinion. The resemblance occurs wherever the same apparenf'genes 

 occur. In the case of such comparison, there can be no difference between 

 real and accidental resemblance*. Yerticillate arrangement may occur every- 

 where, be it in sepals or in cotyledons, where the genes causing the same 

 arrangement occur. The present example explains that there exist the same 

 genes together with many different ones in sepals and cotyledons. In section 

 33, he makes the following statement : - 



| 33. "Wir haben schon oben bei den Cotyledonen eine iihnliche "Wirkung ilor 

 Natur bemerkt, und inelirere Blatter, ja ofEenbar mehrere Knoten, um einen Punct 

 versammlet und neben einander geriickt gesehen. Es zeigen die Ficlitenarten, indem 

 sie sicli aus dem Samenkorn entwickeln, einen Stralilenkranz von nnverkennbaren 

 N adeln, welche, gegen die Gewohnheit anderer Cotyledonen, schon sehr ausgebildet sind ; 

 und wir sehen in der ersten Kindheit dieser Pflanze schon diejenige Kraft der Natur 

 gleichsam angedentet, wodurch in ihrem hoheren Alter der Bliithen = und Fruchtstand 

 gewirkt warden soil. 



In the above lines, " diejenige Kraft der Natur " should be interpreted as 

 representing a gene causing verticillate arrangement. 



Further, he goes on to compare foliage leaves and the gamophyllous 

 calyx ; but here he does not mean that the leaves unite (themselves) to produce 

 the gamophyllous calyx ; but rather that there exists the same " Kraft der 

 Natur " in both the verticillate leaves and the uniting sepals, and accordingly 

 the same arrangement results. Any real entity, when conditioned to show the 

 same genes, presents the same form. In the present case, calyx-leaves and 

 foliage-leaves, since they are conditioned to present the same gene causing 

 verticillate arrangement, are arranged around the axis. They are all the 

 same in their real entity, but their conditioned states in the past, present and 

 future are different. Section 36 runs as follows : 



36. Diese Kraft der Natur, welche mehrere Blatter uin eine Axe versammlet, 

 sehen wir eine noch innigere Verbindung bewirken und sogar diese zusfimmen- 

 gebrachten modificirten Blatter noch iinkenntlicher machen, indem sie (Kraft) solche 

 unter einander manchmal ganz, oft aber nur zum Theil verbindet, und an ihren Seiten 

 zusammengewachsen hervorbringt 



Cf. LOTSY, P. J. Evolution by Means of Hybridization, (1916) pp. 137-138. 



