Mav 



1895] 



NATURE 



79 



consideration of the objective facts which Mr. Bateson wholly 

 shirks. 



I now come to the other point. I put colour change entirely 

 aside for reasons which seem valid to me, and which I may take 

 another opportunity of explaining. Apart from these the 

 cultivated Cineraria exhibits no variation from the feral form 

 which may not be described as dimensional. While the foliage 

 has remained approximately constant, the loose cor}"mbose habit 

 has been contracted into a tight corymb, and the heads of florets 

 have been enormously enlarged. While the feral form stands 

 about five feet high, the cultivated one is about eighteen inches. 

 I am disposed to restrict the term "sporting" to a definite 

 morphological change such as is exhibited in the flowers of the 

 garden Chrysanthemum, and recently in the occurrence of an 

 " i\'y-leaved form of the Chinese Primrose. Hut except a race 

 of so-called double Cinerarias, which did not take the public 

 fancy, the history of the garden Cineraria does not present, as far 

 as I know, any trace of a real morphological change. If I might 

 venture to use a mathematical analogy, I should say that the 

 form of the Cineraria-function has remained unaltered. 



Now the object of these dimensional changes has been to 

 make the plant worked upon handy and convenient for decorative 

 purposes. Those points which were unessential for this pur- 

 po.^e have been unconsciously neglected, and their stability has 

 not been aftected. But I do not doubt that if it had been other- 

 wise the Cineraria might have been brought by this time to any 

 configuration which the cultivators fancied. 



As far as I can make out, the transformation of the Cineraria 

 has taken about sixty years to effect. Mr. Bateson will not 

 complain if I quote a few words from one of his own authorities 

 of aliout that date : — " One species especially merits cultivation, 

 viz. C. cnienta. This may be regarded as the parent of many of 

 those beautiful varieties which are so successfully cultivated by 

 Messrs. Henderson." Now^ mymemory of the cultivated Cineraria 

 goes back some thirty years. I can remember when it was a rather 

 lanky plant, about half the height of the feral form, with a 

 .somewhat lax inflorescence and far smaller flower-heads than are 

 now to be seen. The present fashionable Cinerarias, with a very 

 ■ condensed inflorescence and very large flower-heads, only date 

 Irack some ten or twelve years. 



I see, therefore, no reason for abandoning my assertion that the 

 evolution of the modern Cineraria has been slow and gradual, 

 and not per salliim, and this is in accord w ith general horticid- 

 tural exjierience. .\s soon as a new plant is introduced, ever)- 

 one warns to get a form with bigger flowers or floral structures 

 than anybixly else. There is only one secure path to this 

 result, and that is by taking aihantage of seminal variation 

 and selecting the minutest trace of change in the desired direc- 

 tion. By patiently and continuously repeating the operation, 

 almost any desired result can be obtained. The horticultural 

 gambler may ho|>e to reach it by a "sport." but he will not. 

 Anlhiiriiiiii sihtrzerianuni is a good illustration. Introduced in 

 1862, it was little more than a curiosity ; now its enormous and 

 brilliant s|jathes are a conspicuous object at every flower-show. 

 This has simply been accomplished by progressive selection 

 working on seminal variation. 



Mr. Bateson has now the coolne.ss to say that " the hybrid 

 origin of cultivated Cinerarias is of subordinate interest." .Ml I 

 can say is that in that case it is a pity that he wasted three 

 columns of XAitRE with a discussion of the subject. I should 

 have thought myself that it w;is a matter of very considerable 

 imiKirtancc indeed to be able to form an appnjximate iilea of the 

 amount of change in a given time in an unmixed species, and 

 so obtain si )me measure of the possible rale of evolution, at le.-i.st 

 in regard lo dimensional characters. 



For my |)art. I think that in the study of evolution we have 



had enough and to spare of facile theorising. I infinitely 



prefer the solier method of Prof. Wcldon, even if it should run 



•counter to my ow n prepossessions, to the barren dialectic of .Mr. 



- Bateson. W. T. Thiseltox-Dyer. 



Koyal (hardens, Kew, May 13. 



Some Bibliographical Discoveries in Terrestrial 

 Magnetism. 



I HAVE recently made some interesting discoveries pertaining 

 lo the history of Halley's famous chart of the Lines of l';<iual Mag- 

 netic N'ariation (Declination), to which renewed attention is just 



NO. 1334, VOL. 52] 



now being called by Prof. Hellmann's admirable facsimile repro- 

 duction of the earliest geomagnetic charts.' 



The first reproduction in facsimile of Halley's chart was under- 

 taken by G. B. Airy, and published in " Greenwich Observations" 

 for 1869. Airj- was led to do this by reason of the fact that 

 he could find no geomagnetician of his time who had ever seen 

 Halley's chart. After diligent incjuiry among academies and 

 libraries at home and abroad, it was found that the British 

 Museum possessed a copy, and, it was believed, the <mly copy 

 extant. Since then. Prof. Hellmann has succeeded in tracing two 

 other copies, one at Hamburg (.Stadt Bibliothek) and one at 

 Paris (Bibliotheque Nationale), and has also, since the publication 

 of his book (as he has just infonned me), come into possession of 

 a copy himself. 



I have personally examined the Hamburg and Paris copies, 

 and, during a brief stay in London in March, also the copy in 

 the British Museum used by .Virj-. I have found, moreover, in 

 the British Museum, three other Halley charts and two Dutch 

 reprints. By a careful and critical study of these various copies, 

 some new light is thrown upon the publication of Halle/s chart. 

 To make this apparent, some wearisome details with regard to 

 the various copies will be necessary. I w ill begin with the British 

 Museum copies. 



Catalogue No. 974 (5). — " A new and correct Sea-chart of the 

 ^^^lole World, show ing the Variations of the Compass as they were 

 found in the Year 1700, by Edmund Halley." Date (according 

 to the Catalogue), 1701. 



The above is the English title of the chart referred to at 

 times by the Latin title, "Tabula Nautica," &c. This copy 

 appears to be the one used by .-Viry in his facsimile reproduction 

 of the Halley chart published in " Greenwich Observations " for 

 1869, which in turn has been used for Prof. Hellmann's repro- 

 duction. There is no date on the chart, nor the name of the 

 publishing firm. The date 1 701, assigned hitherto, is probably 

 due to Halley's defence of his chart, contained in Phil. Trans. 

 vol. xxix. (Unabridged), 1714. Halleysays, p. 165, "toexamine 

 the chart I published in the year 1701, for shewing at one \'iew 

 the Variations of the Magnetical Compass, in all those Seas with 

 which the English Navigators are acquainted." But we find 

 that the above number is dedicated "To his Royal Highness, 

 Prince George of Denmark, Lord High .Admiral of England, 

 Generalissimo of all Her Majestie's Forces." As Prince George, 

 consort of Queen Anne, did not bear this title until April 17, 

 1702,- it is evident that the above number is either not the 

 original Halley chart ]>ublished in 1701, or it is a reprint with a 

 later dedication. If it is to be regarded as an original Halley 

 chart (not a reprint), then a date between 1702 and 1708 must be 

 given it, as Prince (Jeorge died October 28, 170S. It was pub- 

 lished probably not far from 1702, and is in excellent condition. 



^o- 973 ('5)- Same title as previous number. Date given in 

 the Catalogue, I720(?) I found upon examination that this is 

 identical with No. 974 (5). The Catalogue date is doubtless 

 erroneous. This copy is cut into sections and remounted. 



No. S. 112 (6). This is a large folio atlas containing a reprint 

 of No. 974 (5), bearing now the name of the publishing firm, R. 

 Mount and T. Page, and having in addition an extra strip, from 

 90° to xdd" E. of London, pasted on the left-hand .side, so that 

 the chart now embraces 430° of longitude instead of 360^ as before. 

 The Hamburg and Paris copies are exact duplicates of this, the 

 only difference being that they have pasted below a strip bearing the 

 explanation of the chart by Halley. Prof. Hellmann, in the work 

 cited, has given us the I laniburg text. The Paris text differs in the 

 orthography of a few words, and in the Sjacing of some of the 

 lines. It appears to be the older text, as below it we find the 

 name of the firm as R. and W. Mount and T. F^age, while the 

 name of the firm on the Hamburg text is Thomas Page and 

 William Mount, anil the former I have ascertained to have been 

 the earlier firm. This English text I have failed to find 

 attached to the British .Museum copies.^ 



» Neudrucke von Schriftcn und Karten Ubcr Meteorologic und Erdmag- 

 netismus. Herausgygebcn von Prof. Dr. G. Hetlmann, No. 4. . . . K. 

 Halley, \V. Whiston, J. C. Wilcke. k. von Humboldl, C. Hansleen : Die 

 .iltesten Karlcn dt-r Isogoilcn, Isoklirien. Isodynamen ; 1701, 1721, 1768, 

 1804, 1825, 1826. 410. 26 pp. 7 plates. (Berlin ; A. Ascher and Co., 1895.) 



- RapindeThoyr.i.s"s Hislorj- of England, I.ondon, 1751, vol. iii. 1689-1707, 



P- 544- 



^ The atlas contains, besides ' .\n .-Vccount of the ^fethods used (o de- 

 scribe Lines on Dr. Halley's Chart of the Terr.atiueous (jlobe," &c., by W. 

 .Moiintaine and J. Dodson, London, 1758, and copies of the Halley chart 

 revised for ep<>chs 1744 and 1756. It liears the title on the back ; " Tabula: 

 Xauticul V'arialione-S ftlagnetica.s Denotentcs. E. Halley." It appears lo 

 be a compilation of charts, probably by the authors (Mountaine and Dodson) 

 of the revision. 



