Periodic Mutatio.ns 697 



others from the northern parts of Norway may 

 be cited as examples. 



Thus Primula imperialis has been found 

 in the Himalayas, and many other plants of the 

 high mountains of Java, Ceylon and north- 

 ern India are identical forms. Some species 

 from the Cameroons and from Abyssinia have 

 been found on the mountains of Madagascar. 

 Some peculiar Australian types are represented 

 on the summit of Kini Balu in Borneo. None of 

 these species, of course, are found in the inter- 

 vening lowlands, and the only possible explana- 

 tion of their identity is the conception of a com- 

 mon post-glacial origin, coupled with complete 

 stability. This stability is all the more remark- 

 able as nearly allied but slightly divergent 

 forms have also been reported from almost 

 all of these localities. Other evidence is 

 obtained by the comparison of ancient plants 

 with their living representatives. The re- 

 mains in tombs of ancient Egypt have al- 

 ways afforded strong support of the views of 

 the adherents of the theory of stability, and to 

 my mind they still do so. The cereals and fruits 

 and even the flowers and leaves in the funeral 

 wreaths of Rameses and Amen-Hotep are the 

 same that are still now cultivated in Egypt. 

 Nearly a hundred or more species have been 

 identified. Flowers of Acacia, leaves of Mimu- 



