182 “TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
of the Cauliflower, and in the fasciated inflorescence of the Cocks- 
comb, advantage is taken of the inherited tendency of the plants 
to produce these abnormalities, 
Tt is generally admitted, however, that where malformation is 
present, disease may be looked for as a natural sequence. Some 
authorities are of opinion that the cultivation of fruit trees has 
resulted in an enfeeblement of their vegetative organs, and a 
shortening of the duration of their lives. It may be assumed 
that all cultivated plants are, toa certain extent, disposed to 
deviate in one way or another from their ordinary structure, and 
it cannot therefore be wondered at that they are so liable to mal- 
formations and diseases. 
Although the abnormalities of the Tomato [ Pl. IT.] are not with- 
out parallels in the vegetable world, under certain conditions they 
are, I think, so excessive, varied, and unusual in a plant so highly 
organised as to be worthy of special notice. Gardeners are familiar 
with these phenomena, to which they pay little attention further 
than removing superfluous growths wherever they appear. The 
causes which lead to these manifestations are not far to seek, but 
biological questions arise which might prove worthy of the 
attention of the student. 
Some years ago I grew a few Tomato plants, and, observing 
during their development some abnormalities of a striking nature, 
I determined, when a suitable opportunity should arise, to pro- 
secute my observations on a larger scale. This year I have been 
able to do so. Through the kindness of Mr, James Barr, of Rose- 
bank Nurseries, I have made continuous observations on the 
growth of over 2,000 plants in his Tomato houses from their 
earliest stages. In addition to this, some thousands of plants 
have been examined in the houses of growers in various parts of 
the country. 
The Tomato, Lycopersicum esculentum, Mill., is an annual of 
straggling habit, producing many trailing succulent stems, not 
unlike “potato shaws.” The natural order, Solanacew, to which 
it belongs is one of the largest of the orders of flowering plants. 
It has representatives, showing a considerable range of variation, 
in almost every climate, and reaches its highest point in numbers 
of genera and species in the tropics. Although the Tomato was 
introduced into this country from South America at an early date, 
