387 



2. " Individual Variation in the alkaloidal content of Belladonna Plants,''' 

 by Arthur F. Sievers, U.S. Journ. of Agric. Research, No. 2, pp. 129-146 (1915). 



Some of the conclusions are : — 



'"Thus far nothing has been found to indicate that any correlation exists between the physical 

 appearance of the plant and the alkaloidal content of its leaves . . ." 



" The variation of the percentage of alkaloids in the leaves of the different plants is exceedingly 

 large ..." 



Mr. W. F. Blakely, who had a good deal of experience amongst sugar-cane in 

 Northern Queensland, informed me that, given the same variety of cane, the Kanakas 

 always chose, for chewing purposes, that from the well-drained hillsides, instead of 

 that from the flats. The cane from elevated situations might only be half the size, 

 but its density for sugar was far greater as compared with that from land with better 

 growing conditions. 



Perhaps the following references from Messrs. Baker and Smith may fitly come 

 in here. 



(a) " E. rostrata var. borealis. On chemical grounds we have decided to 

 separate the Northern River Gum (Nyngan, N.S.W.) from the Southern River Gum, 

 under the varietal name of borealis." (" Research," p. Ill, 2nd Ed.). 



Morphological differences have not been found so far. 



(b) " E. tereticornis var. cineolifera nobis. Scarcely any difference exists between 

 the shape of these fruits and its type." (lb., p. 181.) 



This is therefore also a chemical variety. 



" We have received much help towards settling doubtful botanical points since the discovery of 

 this constancy in chemical constituents was made, the results assisting much towards demonstrating 

 differences between the several species, which otherwise could not have been decided so satisfactorily. 

 When these differences have been detected, further research has shown well-marked morphological characters 

 to be also present — in fact, so distinct that the species cannot again be confounded with others, or, in other 

 words, we have learned its history and found its place in nature. The exceptions to this are very rare." 

 (lb., p. 11.) 



But what of other characters correcting oil determinations? 



I have dealt with the subject of variation in oils, and the botanical inferences 

 involved, in Part VIII of the present work, under the following headings : — 



1. Oil an accessory or adaptive character (p. 248). 



2. Is the oil-character the one invariable (p. 249). 



3. Variation in oil (p. 250). 



4. Classification on oils alone associates dissimilar species (p, 251), and I invite 

 my readers to kindly kirn to these pages, to avoid repetition. 



