104 Transformation of ^yilops into Wlieat. 



1855, p. 151 ; 1855, pp. 582, 587 ; 1857, pp, 617, 627, 79G. 

 CNotices by Messrs. Lindley, Bentham, J. D. Hooker, Henslow, 

 Seem an, &c.) 



The two papers here translated were published in the French 

 ' Annales des Sciences JVatujrUes,'' in the 2nd and 5th volumes ol" 

 the Fourth Series of that Journal, 1854 and 1856 ; M. Planchon's 

 t)bservations appeared in the ' Annales de la Societc Linneenne de 

 L,yon^ nonvelle scrie, iv. ; those of MM. Groenland and Vilmorin 

 in the ' Bulletin de la Societe Botanique de France,^ iv. p. 573 

 (1856), and in the Berlin ' Jalirbucher fur wissenschaftlichc 

 Bofanih,' i. p. 514 (1858). 



It is necessary to notice that the French botanists now distin- 

 guish the plant finally resulting from M. Fabre's experiments, 

 under the name of ^(/ilops speltCEJorrms, from the form whicli 

 occurs wild and is a simple hybrid, the ^f/ilops triticoides, of 

 llequien. 



Oil the Natural and Artificial Fertilization of ^Fgilops hy 

 Triticum. By Dr. Godkon. 



Notwithstanding that the attention of naturalists was awakened, 

 more than a century ago, to the consideration of hybridity in the 

 vegetable kingdom, the investigation of hybrid plants developed 

 sj)()ntaneously was for a long time neglected. Yet this study is 

 not only very interesting in itself, but, in addition, possesses 

 undeniable scientific importance. 



On the one hand crossinr; often renders certain species of plants 

 very "critical," and the detei'mination of these becomes almost 

 impossible if we do not carefully distinguish the forms arising 

 through hybridation from those which constitute genuine specific 

 typos. By this means Messrs. A. Braun, Koch, Wimmer, Fries, 

 ISiigeli, Lang, &c., have succeeded in elucidating certain genera 

 of plants previously almost inextricable, and which were the 

 despair of descriptive botanists. Of this we have examples in 

 the genera Cirshim and Carduvs (thistles'!, Mentlia (mints), Ver- 

 hasciun (mulleins), Fohjgonum (docks), and Salix (willows). 



On the other hand, hybrids, when fertile, tend to return after 

 a certain number of generations to one of tlie two types which 

 liave given them birth ; and as the crossings may take place in 

 o})posite directions, we sometimes meet with complete series 

 of intermediate forms between two perfectly distinct species. 

 Tiius, M. Grenier has gathered, in a meadow in the environs of 

 Pontarlier, such a series of forms between Narcissus pseudo- 

 nm'cissKS and N. poeticus ; and M. le .Jolis has likewise observed a 

 complete set of individuals presenting all the modifications 

 which can exist between Ulex nanus and U. ciavpo'us, compre- 



