THE 



AMERICAN NATURALIST 



Vol. XL Xovember, 1906 No. 479 



A\4RL\TION IN THE NUMBER OF SEEDS OF THE 

 LOTUS 



RAYMOND PEARL 



In his Mutationsthcone (vol. 1, p. 112) de Vries puts at the 

 liead of a list of topics for further investigation by the student of 

 variation the following sentence: "Das Quetelet'sche Gesetz 

 hedarf immer weiterer Beispiele; die Zahl dieser kann nie gross 

 genug werden.'* In view of this statement from so distinguished 

 an investigator of the problems of evolution, I venture to publish 

 some material on variation in Nelumbium which has been in my 

 notes for some years and which lias frequently been used as an 



what follows, this material conforms very closely to the normal or 

 daussian law in the distribution ot its vanates; much more closely 

 m point of fact tlian do inaiiv cases winch have commonly been 

 cited as typical illustrations oi that law. 



In marshy situations at maiiv i)()ints about the shores of the 

 western part of Lake Erie the common lotus. ?\ < hiiuJxiiiii hifnnn 

 W\\\d., grows in great abundance.^ Especiallv in a strij) ot water 

 known locally as "Black Channel," which coiuiccts ."-anduskv 

 Bay with the lake, does this plant flourish. Mauv acn\s ot water 

 aiJ hteralK co^ere<l XMth it. lea^es IVters (hx , ,f , p (,(, sa^. 

 of the growth of Nelumbium in this region: "I1ic immense vellow 

 Hcmds using just abo\e the ouat (iaik-ouui Maudini: Uaxts and 

 I lie water covered with huiiv lloatmo; pads make this the most 

 Mriking formation of the swam]). The Nelumbium <,m-ows m troin 



