246 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



tion in Durris on the south bank of the Dee, about twelve 

 miles from Aberdeen, tells me that in five fields of 

 " Champions " in his immediate neighbourhood he had found 

 it common. It seems to have become habitual in this variety 

 of potato in this vicinity. Has anything of the kind been 

 observed elsewhere? 



The flowers of the " Champion " potato vary much near 

 Aberdeen, the variation depending on the extent to which 

 pistillody has affected the stamens. Certain plants seem 

 more prone than others to the alteration ; but widely differ- 

 ent degrees of it may be observed in the same inflorescence. 

 The younger flowers in an inflorescence seem more liable to 

 be affected as regards both frequency and degree. All the 

 flowers show a marked tendency to fall off, either very soon 

 after they open or while still in bud. I have not observed 

 fully-developed fruits or " plums ' on this variety of potato. 

 In any case their production must be rare. The " Champion ' 

 potato is largely cultivated in the neighbourhood of Aber- 

 deen ; where it has a high reputation as yielding large re- 

 turns, and resisting disease better than most other varieties. 

 Possibly the vigour and healthiness of the organs of vegeta- 

 tion may be connected with the tendency of the flowers to fall 

 off early. 



Only a small proportion of the flowers are of the ordinary 

 structure. In considerably less than one-half are the petals 

 as large and well-formed as usual in potatoes ; and in many 

 even of these the stamens, though to a comparatively slight 

 extent, show evident tendency towards pistillody. Even 

 where the filament and anther are distinct, and where the 

 anther is coloured as in the healthy stamen, and produces 

 pollen, one very often sees the connective prolonged into a 

 small style with a minute stigma ; or the stigma may arise 

 from the inner surface of the connective, near the base. 

 More often one or more, or all, of the petals are dwarfed into 

 narrow segments, little longer than the sepals ; in which 

 case they very often remain greenish white. The inner 

 organs of such flowers are often visible externally while in 

 the bud. The aspect of the inflorescence is changed so much 

 as to become recognisable from a distance of a good many 

 yards. 



