592 Mutations 



organs, in size, in the diameter of the stems, 

 which were woody in some and more fleshy in 

 others, in the shape of the foliage and in the 

 flowers. More than twenty types could be dis- 

 tinguished and seeds were saved from a num- 

 ber of them, in order to ascertain whether they 

 are constant, or whether perhaps a main stem in 

 a mutating condition might be found among 

 them. If this should prove to be the case, the 

 relations between the observed forms would 

 probably be analogous to those between the 0. 

 lamarckiana and its derivatives. 



Many other varieties have sprung from the 

 type-species under similar conditions from time 

 to time. A fern-leaved mercury, Mercurialis 

 annua laciniata, was discovered in the year 1719 

 by Marchant. The type was quite new at the 

 time and maintained itself during a series of 

 years. The yellow deadly nightshade or Atropa 

 Belladonna lutea was found about 1850 in the 

 Black Forest in Germany in a single spot, and 

 has since been multiplied by seeds. It is now 

 dispersed in botanical gardens, and seems to be 

 quite constant. A dwarf variety of a bean, 

 Phaseolus lunatus, was observed to spring from 

 the ordinary tj pe by a sudden leap about 1895 

 by W. W. Tracy, and many similar cases could 

 be given. 



The annual habit is not verv favorable for 



