106 FACTORS OF EVOLUTION 



still cultivated near Heidelberg, and could be distinguished from 

 the common kind only by a somewhat more vigorous growth." 

 Darwin speaks of this as the most remarkable instance known 

 to him "of the direct and prompt action of cUmate upon a 

 plant." 



Then, again, a very remarkable series of sudden transformations 

 in the character of the flower in many different kinds of plants has 

 been long known to occur, and has been fully described by 

 Maxwell Masters in his work on " Vegetable Teratology," ' under 

 the heading of ' Regular Peloria ' and ' Irregular Peloria.' 



In the iirst variety irregular flowers become regular, as when a 

 Violet drops its spurs and inequality of sepals and petals, and 

 appears as a perfectly regular Hower. On the other hand when 

 the flower becomes regular by the increase in number of its 

 irregular portions, as in the Toad-flax when it develops equal 

 sepals, and five spurs instead of only one, this is known as 

 irregular peloria. In this latter case Masters says " the peloria is 

 evidently ttot congenital, but occurs at a more or less advanced 

 stage of development." 



Sometimes this kind of peloric change shows itself in all the 

 flowers on a plant, while at other times a plant will be found 

 with part normal and part peloric flowers. The phenomenon is 

 wide-spread and is apt to occur in all kinds of plants. Masters 

 says that changes of this kind are known to occur in no less than 

 no plants, and he agrees with Darwin in thinking that in many 

 cases such transformations cannot be atttributed to 'reversion.' 

 Some of these peloric sports are moreover capable of reproducing 

 themselves by seeds, as has been shown by Darwin and others. 



Referring to facts of this kind, and some others to which I am 

 about to refer, recorded by Darwin in the extremely interesting 

 and important chapter xi. on ' Bud Variation ' in his " Animals and 

 Plants under Domestication," I find that so long ago as 1872 I 

 expressed the following opinion = : — "We think, moreover, that 

 Mr. Darwin fails to attach an adequate importance to such 

 instances of ' spontaneous ' variation as he has recorded. These 

 instances would seem to afford most interesting examples of the 

 operation in higher organisms of those influences which suffice to 

 produce such multitudes of heterogenetic changes among lower 

 organisms ; so that they supply most valuable additional testimony 



' Ray Society, 1859, pp. 219-239. 



=■ " The Beginnings of Life," Vol. II, p. 595. 



