3SO BOTANICAL GAZETTE [may 



and space in the garden. The line of work chosen by Davis seems 

 to me to be necessarily without any chance of success. 



Besides his experimental work, Davis has made some historical 

 researches to discover the origin of 0. Lamarckiana." Unfortu- 

 nately, he has neglected to visit the Musetim d'Histoire Naturelle 

 at Paris, where the herbarium of Lamarck is preserved, and where 

 other valuable docxmients concerning the first appearance of our 

 species are to be found. For myself I visited these collections in 

 1895 and reported on the results of my investigations in my Muta- 

 tion theory (vol. I. pp. 437-444 of the English edition). In Octo- 

 ber 1913 I repeated my visit and compared the authentic specimens 

 with the remarks made upon them by Davis. I regret to say that, 

 through his ignorance of the available evidence, Davis has been 

 led to conclusions which are fully contradicted by the herbarium 

 material, both of the "Herbier de Lamarck" and of the "Herbier 

 general" of the Museum. As we shall see, the origin of 0. Lamarck- 

 iana is the same as I have pointed out in my book. 



In the herbarium of Lamarck, 0. grandiflora (Lam.), which 

 later was renamed by Seringe and called 0. Lamarckiana, the 

 name it still bears, is represented by two large flowering specimens. 

 When I studied them in 1895, they were loose on their sheets and 

 bore together the no. 12, indicating that they corresponded with 

 no. 12 O. grandiflora of the Encyclopedic methodique, Botanique, by 

 Lamarck." About 1900 they were fastened on new sheets and 

 the numbers have been lost.^' For convenience, I shall call these 

 specimens A and B, the former being represented by our pi. XVII, 

 while a photograph of B has been pubhshed by Davis."* 



" Davis, B. M., Was Lamarck's evening primrose (^Oenothera Lamarckiana 

 Seringe) a form of Oenothera grandiflora Solander? Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 39:519- 

 533- P^^- 37-39- 1912; A much desired Oenothera. Plant World 16:145-153. 1913; 

 The problem of the origin of Oenothera Lamarckiana. New. Phytol. 12:233-241. 

 1913- 



"» The Mutation Theory 1:442. 1901. 



" The herbarium of Lamarck was acquired by the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle 

 in 1886. Vergl. Bonnet, Ed., L'herbier de Lamarck, son histoire, ses vicissitudes, 

 son 6tat actuel. Jour. Botanique 16:129-138. 1902. 



•< Davis, B. M., Was Lamarck's evening primrose ipenothera Lamarckiana 

 Seringe) a, ionn. oi Oenothera grandiflora Solander? Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 39:519-533. 

 1912. See pi. 37. 



