188 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
I believe that no further progress is possible without a fuller recognition 
of the fact that hybridisation, as well as polymorphism, occurs. Natural 
hybrids certainly occur, and Focke has succeeded in reconstructing two 
of them artificially, namely, R. pruinosus, Arrh., from R. Ideus 2 x 
cesius ¢; and R. neglectus, Peck, from R. Ideus subsp. strigosus 9 x — 
occidentalis $. 
Incredible as it may seem to-day, few botanical questions have been 
more often or more warmly discussed than the one whether the Cowslip 
and Primrose are distinct species or only forms of one, the reason being 
the occurrence of intermediate forms, called Oxlips, which we now know 
to be hybrids. Linneus, who certainly had a suspicion of the truth, 
ranked both the Primrose and Oxlip as varieties of P. veris (the Cowslip). 
Sir J. E. Smith, in 1790, clearly suspected the Oxlip to be a hybrid, 
remarking, ‘‘If not a hybrid production between the other two, it may 
perhaps with the greatest propriety be reckoned a variety of the Primrose ”’ 
(Sowerby and Smith, “ Engl. Bot.,’ t. 4). Various experiments were 
made to ascertain the truth of this hypothesis. Mr. Hewett C. Watson 
brought into his garden a wild ‘Claygate Oxlip,” planting it near Cows- 
lips and Primroses, so that the flowers might be hybridised by bees— 
if hybridisation really took place. He carefully marked it, and sowed the 
seeds, and from them he states that he obtained plants of the Oxlip, 
Cowslip, and Primrose.* By a similar process from Cowslip seed he 
could get only Cowslips and Oxlips, from which he concludes that the 
“hybridisation hypothesis wears an aspect of plausibility’’ (‘ Phytol.,”’ 
iii. pp. 146-149). Godron, however, made the much more promising experi- 
ment of crossing and recrossing the two species, from which he raised 
numerous intermediate forms, which set the matter at rest. This ques- 
tion has been somewhat complicated by the fact that there is a true 
species, Primula elatior, Jacq., which somewhat resembles the hybrid 
Oxlip, and the two were formerly confused together. The species is now 
known as the Bardwell Oxlip. Mr. Miller Christy has published an 
exhanstive paper on the subject (‘‘ Journ. Linn. Soc.,” xxxiii. pp. 172-201). 
Some years ago in a batch of Sarracenias, imported by Mr. B. 5$. 
Willams, of Upper Holloway, a plant was found which combined the 
characters of S. purpurea and S. flava, and was named S. Williamsiv. 
Mr. Stevens, of Trentham, crossed S. purpurea with S. flava, and his 
seedling was named S. Stevensii. The late Mr. T. Moore is said to have 
observed respecting them :—‘‘ These two plants have the same parents. 
. . » We have little doubt the crosses were made the reverse way” 
(Burbidge, “ Cult. P1.,’’ p. 527). Recently a second natural hybrid has been 
recorded, Mr. G. W. Oliver remarks :—‘ An instance occurred under my 
own observation a few years ago in a well-marked Sarracenia hybrid 
which was found growing near Wilmington, N.C. Only three species 
were growing near the hybrid: these were S. rubra, S. purpurea, and S. 
flava ; in the hybrid the form of the leaves suggested S. purpurea as the 
seed-bearer, with S. rwbra as the pollen parent. This surmise proved 
* These specimens are preserved in his herbarium, now at Kew, and, having 
examined them, I can say that they are not true Primroses and Cowslips, which would 
imply complete reversion to the parent forms. Whether they are secondary hybrids 
with either parent, or partial reversions, is, of course, problematical. 
