2IO 



HARD WICKE 'S SCIENCE - G OSS I P. 



— Veronica, Clematis, and Gladiolus. Not presuming 

 to give an opinion as to the origin of the legend and 

 name, or name and legend, of the saint who bears a 

 name derived from the Latin vera and the Greek 

 eikon, I venture to think it highly probable that, as 

 a plant-name, Veronica is simply a corruption of 

 Betonica, and is therefore rightly accentuated on_the 

 second syllable. Clematis is now rapidly giving 

 place to the more natural, as well as the more accu- 

 rate, Clematis. Gladiolus is no worse than Gladiolus. 

 The probably classical alternative, Gladjolus, does 

 not seem to occur to the ordinary gardener's ear. — 

 G. S. Boulger. 



Notes on Silene inflata. — Is it commonly 

 known that this widely-distributed plant is di-, if 

 not tri-, morphous ? On Wednesday evening, the 

 1 2th June, I was forced to seek shelter beneath a tall 

 hedge from one of those not very seasonable storms 

 that were this year so disagreeably characterising this 

 month. Amusing myself by examining various flowers 

 within my reach, I was struck with the apparent fact 

 that there were two well-marked forms of the common 

 Catchfly. In one form the three styles (sometimes 

 4, sometimes 5) projected fully \ from the tube of 

 corolla, no stamens being visible. A closer exami- 

 nation showed that the stamens were present, but 

 that their filaments were extremely short, seldom 

 much exceeding the average in length ; and, more 

 remarkable still, that the anthers were contabescent, 

 i.e., dry and shrivelled, containing no pollen. In 

 the other form the stamens projected \, while the 

 styles were rarely visible. On pulling to pieces these 

 flowers, however, the styles were found more or less 

 closely oppressed, and evidently quite immature. 

 Further examination showed that this form was 

 decidedly proterandrous ; for, though the stamens suc- 

 cessively arrive at maturity, commencing with those 

 on the under side, all the anthers have shed their 

 pollen before the styles are fully grown. At this time 

 they are largely exserted, and have their receptive 

 stigmas widely spreading. I have since passed many 

 hundreds of plants in review, and find these two 

 forms about equally distributed in this district, and 

 wonderfully persistent in the characters mentioned. 

 There does not appear to be any other striking points 

 of difference between them, so far as I can at present 

 determine. The first form is evidently to all intents 

 and purposes always female ; the second, first male 

 and then female. I found a very few plants in which 

 the presence of a few dry anthers (the rest being per- 

 fect) seemed to indicate a transition stage between 

 the two. Fertilization must, I think, be brought 

 about by a small dipterous fly, but how is not very 

 clear. Its common name of Catchfly is fully justified, 

 as any one may see who will take the trouble to 

 examine a number of plants in the earlier part of the 

 day. Almost every flower will then have a tenant. 

 I applied to Dr. Morton, who informs me that Sir 

 John Lubbock quotes Axell, to the effect that there 



are three forms, one with stamens only, another with 

 pistils only, and yet a third with both stamens and 

 pistil. This scarcely agrees with my observations on 

 British specimens. If it be correct with regard to con- 

 tinental species, it is highly interesting as showing 

 that the modification in them has proceeded much 

 further than in ours, and along a somewhat different 

 line, as I can find no tendency to the production of 

 purely male plants in ours. — J. Hepworth, Rochester. 

 Variability of Colour in Hollyhocks. — In 

 the autumn of 1873 I picked up a spike, or rather 

 stem, of a hollyhock, with ripe seeds, which had been 

 thrown on a heap of rubbish where it was customary 

 to dispose of the refuse of neighbouring gardens. It 

 was kept through the winter, and then the seeds on 

 it were sown in a row in which the seeds from the 

 lower part of the spike were sown at one end, those 

 at the upper part at the other end, and the others 

 between them in positions corresponding with those 

 they occupied on the plant. When they had come 

 up I took one, as from the lower part of the spike, and 

 planted by itself, and another from the uppermost 

 part and planted by itself, in perhaps a better situa- 

 tion. These two plants flowered in 1875. The one 

 which grew from a seed produced on the upper part 

 of the parent stem was rather stronger in growth and 

 earlier in flowering than the other, which I attributed 

 to its more favourable situation ; for I find that holly- 

 hocks are very much affected by circumstances. 

 This earliest flowering plant had blossoms of a crim- 

 son red, those of the other were of a much darker 

 colour. The plant with crimson blossoms was the 

 one from which I took the seed which I sowed in 

 1876, putting in the ground the seeds from each 

 flower separately as well as I could, — though I cannot 

 be perfectly sure there was no error, as a few seeds 

 fell out of their places on the ground. The plants, 

 however, which came up in irregular places I de- 

 stroyed, that I might ensure as much accuracy as 

 possible. I had expected a difference in habit among 

 plants raised from seeds proceeding from different 

 parts of the inflorescence, but did not think of colour. 

 Of two plants from seeds at the bottom of the spike, 

 one was left on the seed-bed, where it is now alive, 

 having made no attempt to flower. This seems to 

 show the necessity for planting out seedling hollyhocks 

 in order to their becoming vigorous. The other which 

 I planted out in 1S77, flowered, as did also four plants 

 from seeds taken from a lateral spike which sprung 

 from the. same stem. The seedling plant from the 

 spike of the main stem produced crimson flowers, like 

 those of its parent ; the plants from seeds on the 

 lateral spike were white, with only so much of a 

 reddish tint as to indicate their parentage. Not 

 having much ground at my disposal, I did not take 

 heed of the seedlings from the middle of the spike, 

 but planted out nine grown from the seeds yielded by 

 one of the uppermost flowers. Seeds from the upper- 

 most flowers of all, which were hardly ripened, ger- 



