282 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Voi,. XXII. No. 557. 



generations, under the most favorable hypothesis, 

 viz., that more A, chiaradiw be produced, to en- 

 able us to decide whether or not a new species of 

 Athene has been formed. 



" As to any other hypotheses to explain the for- 

 mation of A. chiaradice, I can but repeat that I 

 reject both that based on hybridism, and that of a 

 teratological or pathological cause. Hybrids al- 

 ways show traces of the characters of both 

 parents, especially when, as would be the case 

 in Athene, of sheer necessity the connubium can 

 not buL occur with a species of such very distinct 

 genera as Nyctala, Scops and possibly Glaucidium; 

 now A. chiaradice is purely and simply an Athene, 

 and shows no trace whatever of the characters, 

 either specific or generic, of any of the forms 

 quoted above. As to a teratological or patho- 

 logical origin, a mere glance at one of the black- 

 eyed civette -svill show that they can not owe their 

 origin to such a cause. Besides in such cases, 

 as again in hybrids, the form produced varies, 

 and in these black-eyed descendants of A. noctua 

 the specimens thus far examined are perfectly 

 alike. The only instance in which Ave find per- 

 fect similarity in pathological descendants is in 

 cases of absolute alMnisin or melanism, or, to put 

 it better, in monochroic varieties. 



" I believe that neogenesis gives a logical ex- 

 planation of the strange case of A. chiaradice. 

 But neogenesis, which appears to be of frequent 

 occurrence amongst plants, has rarely been noted 

 in animals, and I believe never before amongst 

 vertebrata in a wild state. 



" Finally, as I have said before, neogenesis may 

 or may not lead to the establishment of a new 

 species." 



The conclusions arrived at by this eminent 

 Italian naturalist, which have just been quoted 

 at length, appeal to me strongly and force me 

 to endorse the view he has so ably presented. 



In the light of the evidence set forth only 

 one answer can be made to the question as to 

 the part that the process defined by de Vries 

 as ' mutation ' is playing among higher ani- 

 mals to-day. Beyond doubt we have wit- 

 nessed the birth of new species of birds during 

 the past seventy years. - Moreover, some of 

 these new species have flourished so as to have 

 become a salient part of the bird fauna in the 

 region where they occur and where they were 

 unknown to skilled ornithologists, who care- 



fully studied these regions in the early part 

 of the last century. 



William E. D. Scott, 

 wortiiington society foe the 

 Investigation of Bird Life. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 

 NORTH AMERICAN FLORA. 



Some years ago a group of American botan- 

 ists under the leadership of Professor Doctor 

 'N. L. Britton proposed to undertake the prep- 

 aration of a comprehensive botanical work 

 which was to bear the name ' Systematic 

 Botany of North America.' One part, con- 

 sisting of a few pages, was issued, since which 

 nothing further has appeared. Botanists 

 everywhere will be much pleased to know that 

 in this interval work has gone forward, and 

 that publication has been resumed. The title 

 is now ' North American Flora ' (instead of 

 ' Systematic Botany of North America'), and 

 its scope has been considerably extended, so as 

 now to include the whole of North America 

 from Greenland to Panama and the West 

 Indian Islands. 



As projected the work will include thirty 

 volumes, which are to appear in from 120 to 

 150 ' parts.' The volumes have been- assigned 

 as follows: Vol. 1, Mycetozoa, Schizophyta, 

 Diatomaceae ; 2 to 10, Pungi ; 11 to 13, Algae ; 

 14 and 15, Bryophyta; 16, Pteridophyta and 

 Gymnosperms; 17 to 19, Monocotyledons; 20 

 to 30, Dicotyledons. 



The magnitude of the work may be esti- 

 mated from the fact that the part before us 

 includes eighty pages. It will be published by 

 the New York Botanical Garden, through the 

 aid of a fund bequeathed by Charles P. Daly. 

 The first part issued (bearing date of May 22, 

 1905) is Part 1 of Volume 22, beginning with 

 the order Resales, under which are mono- 

 graphed the families Podostemonaceae (by G. 

 V. Nash),Crassulaceae (by N. L. Britton and J. 

 N. Rose), Penthoraceae and Parnassiaceae (by 

 P. A. Rydberg). ' The descriptions are con- 

 cise and the synonymy full. Type localities, 

 distribution and illustrations are cited. Met- 

 ric measurements are used exclusively. Keys 

 to families, genera and species are given. 



