A STUDY OF THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. 271 
pro Oncidio curto Lindl. habuerim.”’ Hence I suspected its being 
O. curtum Lindl., a rare species, near Oncidium Gardneri Lindl., 
but inferior in beauty. It is, oo not my fault that the late 
Dr. Lindley De sor ions p- 58) said, ‘* Oncidium flabelliferum 
Pinel in Paxt. Mag. Bot. xvi. p. 65, is referred to pubes by Rechb. f. 
iii, 655),” 
Thanking M. Barbusa Rodriguez for his courteous kindness in 
defending me in my suspected mistake, I must confess I did not 
want it. What makes the note more surprising is, that 
Barbusa Rodriguez ; comes continues in stating that I have 
combined by mistake Oncidium flabelliferum gor 1 and Gardneri 
Lindl. He teaches us this is not right, a 
- discerning his Oncidium Gardneri and flabelliferum. 1 have only 
make the observation that, whatever his Oncidiwn ‘ Gardneri 
ioe ve it is decidedly not Lindley’s. We must understand this 
from remark, ‘‘mézochile long’’ [why not “mésochile long’’?}. 
The accuse (called _mézochile = ~ Barbusa Rodriguez) is as 
short as possible in Dr. Lindley’ 
I amvafraid M. Barbusa Hodrigir noe saw Sere pe é cerns , 
in his life, else he would have found Oncidium flabelliferum both i 
vols, iii. and v., and have felt satisfied that Professor Baishenbach, 
after having spent mths all the eta time of his life in orchidic 
studies, is really able to discern two such species as 0. Sibea Lindl. 
Gardneri Lindl. ( fabdliforion Pinel), without looking out for an 
excuse. 
1 have hundreds of such remarks to make, but there is indeed 
no great bap hie to waste one’s time with such polemics, which, 
however, must finally be written, and shall be written, also against 
Mr. G. Bentham. 
A STUDY OF THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. 
By J. G. Baxer, F.R.S. 
_ Asour three years ago a piece of ground at Kew was specially 
set apart to contain a collection of hardy herbaceous plants for the 
use of botanical teachers and their pupils. It was a perfectly level 
square of ground in the immediate neighbourhood of the Herbarium, 
which for a long time had been covered with grass, amongst which 
a few trees were planted. It was spaced out into beds with walks 
between them, and about 250 species were selected, and a 
tuft of each was planted in the beds. Each species bak a distinct 
plot allotted to it, the soil being quite uniform, and the species 
arranged according to their systematic sequence. I have now had 
the collection under constant inspection for three years, and have 
made a catalogue of the species, classifying them in three groups, 
