BRUNELLA LACINIATA X VULGARIS 11 
ose 
nds a lingering, and sometimes even a very strong, aeies 
Of course, g Be are many intermediates which are not 
Belen: oe) some of sph may form the subject of future notes. 
But when, as in the case of B. laciniata and B. vulgaris, it can 
be asserted with pee cn first, that the intermediates are 
rong presumption has been established for the belief that such 
aceciaies are of hybrid-origin 
The position is sometimes maintained that pe Liagg aay ore 
should not be regarded as hybrids until the s been 
experimentally made; but think the sn rate masks on 
B. laciniata x vulgaris should make it clear that, eve a 
from actual experiments, it is po ie from a study of disaihouon 
to arrive at a tentative conclusion regarding the hybrid-origin of 
many intermediates. 
The old position that intermediates between two closely allied 
plants proved Hall ee e was only one polymorphic species in 
question became untenable as soon as botanists began to produce 
hybrids by aeadak pecan Leaving out of account the 
rough and ready methods of the average horticulturist or 
gardener, I believe that the first botanist to produce hybrids 
artificially and to take such precautions that error became quite 
impossible was Max Wichura. This botanist set to work about 
1850 to test what was then the unverified hypothesis that 
many of the accepted species of Salix were really hybrids. 
Among other hybrids that Max Wichura igi uced was a hybri 
of Saliz caprea and S. viminalis; and he rightly haneied his 
artificial cross as “the most. beautiful sobfamation that the 
ig ge of hybrids ee willows “tas receive’’ (cf. Cambr. Brit. 
FI. 3, 19 Since Max ura’s time, a considerable 
itobe of other cases of putative hybrids have been put to the test 
of experiment; and, whilst it is possible to mention examples of 
confirmations of the hypothesis of the hybrid-origin . several 
well-known and widely distributed plants, 1 can recall no instance 
common occurrence have every reason to feel ak As 
examples of putative hybrid a st and careful experi- 
ments have proved to be actual hybrids, I mention (in addition to 
Salix caprea x viminalis), Geum rivale x —— es 
(Lychnis) album x dioicum, and Primula veris x vulgaris. I 
