LEAKE AND RAM PRASAD. 141 



reproductive and one vegetative shoot ; further, the vigorous 

 growth of the vegetative branches leads, owing to the exclusion 

 of light and air, to the dwarfing, and even to the complete death, 

 of the weaker reproductive branches. Here the vegetative, re- 

 places the reproductive, branch, but does not arise by any process 

 of transformation, for the dormant bud, frequently represented 

 by a weak or dead shoot, lies on the wrong side of the vigorous 

 veofetative branch. A sinole case only of transformation has 

 been observed b}^ us. It occurs among the Persian series of 

 "herbaceum" cottons, and is referred to in our paper on these 

 types (Memoirs, Uept. of Agr in India, Bot. Series IV, No. 5). 

 It is in this series of cottons that the widest range of diversity in 

 form of branching is developed, and, in consequence, the series 

 aftbrds a valuable field for observation of the methods of 

 branchino-. 



That environment is able to produce a change of habit is 

 seen to be true for plants of the ' sympodial ' type. When, how- 

 ever, we turn to the true ' monopodial ' types, no such change can 

 be induced. Under adverse conditions, no, or a single, vegeta- 

 tive branch is developed in each leaf axil of the main stem ; 

 while, under conditions of vigorous growth, two vegetative branch- 

 es are produced. 



For the reasons already given I am unable to follow the 

 author in detail into the minute structure of the branches. I 

 have shown that the two primary assumptions are not supported 

 by observation and that the change of habit induced by varying 

 conditions of environment are due to the relative development 

 of the two types of branches and not to an}' transformation of the 

 one into the other. These facts point to the fundamental nature 

 of the difterence of the two types of branches. The reproduc- 

 tive branches are admittedly sympodial in structure and it seems 

 more natural to infer that they are truly such than to hypothecate 

 a series of torsions in the earlier stages of development. 



11. M L. 



