lie THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



not provide for such plants. We have found means of indicat- 

 ing forms and varieties of single species but, as yet, we have 

 no way of naming and indicating blends of several different 

 species or varieties which have all the appearances of separate 

 species. It has been suggested that in the manuals the names 

 of such complexes might be set in different type or be given 

 some designating symbol. The suggestion as to the use of dif- 

 ferent type does not appeal to us. It would seem that the desig- 

 nation should be of such nature that the status of the form 

 would be apparent whenever and wherever the name was used. 

 We suggest that since hybrids are indicated by x between the 

 supposed parents, it would be quite easy to use either the plus 

 sign after the generic name or separate the generic and "spe- 

 cific" names by the customary botanical sign for indefinite or 

 many — a figure 8 on its side. This would clearly indicate the 

 conditions. 



BOOKS AND WRITERS 



Certain features of evolution never fail to excite our 

 curiosity and admiration. Although regarding the origin 

 and development of living things as a sort of game of chance 

 in which the best adapted is sure to win in the long run, we 

 nevertheless find a variety of adjustments between different 

 forms which seem more than coincidences and which sug- 

 gest that some sort of determining influence runs through 

 all the manifestations of nature. Take the case of the herb- 

 eating mammals, for instance. The early vegetation was 

 woody, and herbivorous species, if in existence then, would 

 have had a hard time of it, but when the more tender herbs 

 appeared, the herb-eating animals appeared with them. A 

 similar condition exists with regard to insects and flowers. 

 The first insects were wood eating species and the first 



