68 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



mechanical forces into profitable channels, and have 

 converted them to their use. More than this, 

 mechanical evolution means the development of the 

 machine that directs other machines, the brain, and 

 the mind. Hence mechanical evolution is the 

 evolution of intelligence. Of course the lessons of 

 experience are in part lessons of pain, and beings 

 that cannot act in accordance with lessons sufficiently 

 learned will experience a maximum of suffering, and 

 may have foundation for a private stock of pessimism 

 of their own. But a tolerance of suffering is of 

 various duration, and sooner or later intelligence will 

 have its beneficent way. And as "knowledge is 

 power," it results that the evolution of the living 

 world and of men, has been and will be very much as 

 they have it, and enlightened intelligence, well lived 

 up to, has always resulted in a minimum of pain. — 

 "C." in "American Naturalist." 



BOTANY. 



Watson's "Topographical Botany." — Your 

 correspondent T. H., whose note is printed at 

 p. 44, has quite misunderstood his Watson's " Topo- 

 graphical Botany," in relation to the flora of 

 Wigtonshire. There is no such statement contained 

 in it as that such cosmopolitan plants as the nettle, 

 dandelion, buttercup, daisy, and primrose, are not 

 indigenous to the county. He will find the 

 explanation of what has puzzled him at page 41 of 

 the introductory remarks, " For two of the vice- 

 counties (out of 112), 74 Wigton, and 78 Peebles, 

 we have still no records for the commonest species. 

 For some other counties the lists of ascertained 

 common plants are very incomplete, although not 

 wholly blanks : in example, Cardigan, Flint, West 

 Lancashire, Stirling, &c." If he will send a cata- 

 logue with due vouchers as to the accuracy of his 

 names, either to the Editor of the "Journal of 

 Botany," or the Managers of the Botanical Record 

 Club, it will gladly be placed on record. — J. G. Baker. 



Watson's " Topographical Botany." — In 

 Science-Gossip for February, T. H. states that 

 he is surprised that "such cosmopolitan plants as the 

 nettle, dandelion, buttercup, daisy, and primrose, 

 recorded as not indigenous to the county of Wigton, 

 as given under the authority of Mr. Balfour" in the 

 above work. T. H. has misunderstood Mr. Watson's 

 formula ; he nowhere denies, or implies, that the 

 above plants "are not indigenous" to Wigton. In 

 the introduction to the first edition, ]\Ir. W. writes : 

 " There are nine counties for which no lists of the 

 commoner plants have been obtained, although some- 

 thing is known about their rarer plants." Wigton is 

 one of these, and j\Ir. (Professor) Balfour's contri- 

 butions had reference to the rarer plants. Between 



the first and second editions, lists from seven of these 

 counties were obtained — Wigton being one of the 

 two still left, and this has since been visited by an 

 Oxford botanist, with the view to the compilation of 

 such a list. If T. H. will look over the list of the 

 county (or counties) with which he is familiar, and 

 send any additions, corrections or notes, to ]\Ir. J. G. 

 Baker, or Rev. W. W. Newbould at Kew, those 

 who, like myself, are interested in the distribution of 

 our flora, will be very thankful, as it is only by the 

 help of the many that approximate completeness and 

 correctness can be obtained in a work like " Topo- 

 graphical Botany." — Arthur Bennett, Croydon. 



Species of Potatoes. — Mr. J. ,G. Baker, in a 

 paper read before the Linnean Society, lately 

 expressed his opinion that out of the twenty-six 

 species of tuber-bearing Solanums which are usually 

 enumerated, not more than six are really distinct, viz. 

 Solanittn tiiberosii/n, S. viajlia, S. cominersoni, S. car- 

 diophyllum, S. jamesii, S. oxycarpiim. Of these only 

 one, .5". tid^crosum, is cultivated, and it is a native 

 of the high, dry regions of the Andes. Mr. Baker 

 attributes the deterioration of the potato to its being 

 cultivated in too humid a climate, and from tubers 

 only — the tuber having been unduly stimulated at 

 the expense of the other organs of the plant. The 

 great majority of Solanums, in fact, many hundred 

 species, produce seeds alone, and Mr. Baker urges 

 that in order to extend the power of climate adapta- 

 tion of potato species, S. inajUa, S. cominersoni, and 

 S. cardiophylliim should be brought into cultivation, 

 and tried both as pure specific types and as hybridized 

 with the various forms of S. tuberosum. The first- 

 mentioned is an inhabitant of the damp coasts of Chili, 

 as far south as lat. 44 to 45. S. commersoni is a low- 

 level plant of Uruguay, and S. cardiophylluni is a 

 species from the Mexican highlands. 



Phyto logical Record for March. — The 

 common chickweed [Stellaria media, Linn.), is very 

 variable, still there are three or^four very good and 

 constant varieties, by some writers made into species ; 

 and the best month of the year to look out for these 

 is March, i. Stellaria media, L. Stams. 5 ; pets, 

 large and conspicuous. This is the common form 

 found in cultivated ground. 2. S. Bora-ana, Jard. 

 Flors. devoid of petals ; stams. 3 ; leaves very small, 

 and crowded on the stem, A small tufted species, 

 found in sandy soil. 3. S. ncglecia, Weihe. Stem 

 tall, a foot or more in length ; stams. 10 ; leaves 

 large, not unlike S. nemorum ; upper 1. clasping the 

 stem. Not uncommon on the borders of woods. 

 Betwixt Nos. 2 and 3 comes another variety, .5*. 

 pallida, Dunn ; but it is not constant. 4. S. 

 umbrosa, Opitz. Stems long, but weak ; flrs. 

 numerous, in dense panicles ; pedicels glabrous. 

 Seps. lanceolate, with raised tips ; pets, as long as 

 the calyx ; seeds tubercled. Frequent in shady 

 places. A peculiar form of the primrose {rrimitla 



