1885.] NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA. 405 



early white departure perpetuated and propagated itself so that 

 such trees should be quite common in this era ? The different 

 abilities of various classes of plants to propagate themselves 

 were pointed out. Of small seeds produced by such a plant as 

 chickweed, hundreds get the chance to grow. Perennial plants, 

 such as Aster, Golden Rods, also, in a general way, had great fa- 

 cilities for seed germination, hence any departure from a parental 

 form had a good chance to perpetuate itself, the only great enemy 

 being the struggle of the young living plants to get a portion of 

 the nutrition necessary for life. Hence we had many variations 

 among such genera very puzzling to naturalists, running the spe- 

 cies together so that it was only with great difficulty the species 

 of some genera could be classified. Among trees with larger seeds 

 it was difficult to perpetuate the race, and it was providential in 

 many cases that longevity was great, or the race would soon have 

 become extinct. Of the hundreds of thousands of Acorns, Chest- 

 nuts, Beechnuts, and other similar seed produced in a forest in 

 any one season, only a few score would get a chance to grow up 

 to produce seeds again. Birds, quadrupeds, and insects ate the 

 seeds by thousands, large numbers could not sprout for want of 

 a proper covering of earth. Of those which sprouted, numerous 

 were the\ T that failed to get beyond the first year ; and of these, 

 shade, or the innumerable struggles they were subjected to, per- 

 mitted them not to reach mature age. He had known Honey 

 Locust trees, single specimens, bearing fruit annually for over a 

 quarter of a century in some instances, and yet to be but solitary 

 specimens of their kind in their immediate location. As a rule, 

 the chance of a new departure perpetuating itself was small, but 

 sometimes circumstances seemed to favor the production of seed- 

 lings. Once in a while, under the trees in a Pine, Oak, Maple, or 

 other forest, or under large trees, numerous seedlings might be 

 noticed. It was only when a new departure found itself under 

 these exceptional cases, that enough trees would be produced to 

 extend and perpetuate the race, and then it was that we had to 

 recognize the distinct variety, or even species, as we often had to 

 call the departure by reason of its great distinctness from its 

 parental form. . 



Mr. Meehan referred to some recent discussions on variation 

 in Indian Corn. Cross-fertilization often made great changes in 

 the immediate coloring of the seeds. There were some who 

 argued that change comes also from innate power to vary. Such 

 instances as this of the Honey Locust confirmed this view. 



