108 THE PLANT WORLD 



various forms of juvenile and adult leaves in a statistical study of varia- 

 tions in plants, and the reader is referred to the paper mentioned in the 

 foot note for the detailed measurements of bloodroot leaves. The most 

 highly evolved adult leaf is one represented in outline in figure M. This 

 leaf was eight inches wide, four inches long, with a petiole ten and one- 

 half inches long. It had nine three-lobed divisions separated by narrow 

 rounded sinuses. 



Occasionally reverted forms of leaves are found on old plants. These 

 usually appear as lateral outgrowths of the fleshy underground rhizome. 

 It is known that reversion to a juvenile form chiefly takes place when the 

 conditions of vegetation are unfavorably influenced. That this is the 

 case with the appearance of juvenile leaves on adult plants of the blood- 

 root seems to be indicated by the stimulation of the dormant lateral buds 

 on the rhizome which give rise to the aforementioned juvenile leaves. 

 Leaf a in figure L is such a reverted juvenile form and may be compared 

 with the juvenile leaves illustrated in figures A, B, and C. 



The bloodroot, therefore, in the development of its leaf forms, ranging 

 from the simple, undulate reniform juvenile type to the nine-lobed evolved 

 type, is another exemplification of the principle that in the development 

 of plants from the germ there appear frequently relationships of configura- 

 tion which are different from those exhibited by the adult plant, and this 

 is chiefly the case when the seedling is adapted, as in the Australian 

 acacias, to other conditions than those which surround the subsequent 

 stages of development. 



It may be stated in closing that with the exception of figure M, which 

 was much reduced, the leaves and rhizomes illustrated in the figures were 

 drawn life size, and are all equally reduced. 



University of Pennsylvauia. 



Mr. William R. Maxon, of the U. S. National Museum, has gone 

 to Jamaica for the purpose of making a collection of the flora of the 

 island, and more especially to study tropical ferns, in company with Dr. 

 L. M. Underwood. 



An attractive little guide has been published to the Hope Gardens 

 at Kingston, Jamaica, under the authority of the colonial government. 

 It is prepared by the director, Mr. William Fawcett, with the assistance 

 of Mr. Walter Jekyll, and contains descriptions of the more attractive 

 features in the gardens, with several good illustrations. The annual 

 report of the Department of Public Gardens of Jamaica has also been 

 received. 



