No. 539] ORIGIN OF SPECIES IN NATURE 667 



' 4 abnormal ' ' specimen and on the other hand by the lack 

 of data at our command. 



There will not be wanting those who are inclined to 

 look upon the Albion specimens as well as upon those 

 from other localities as having originated through muta- 

 tion. The mutation idea, however, involves the idea of 

 constancy. Will the laciniate form come true to seed? 

 If the laciniate plants at Albion are mutants one ought 

 to be able to get a certain percentage of laciniate plants 

 from the apparently normal plants in the same locality, 

 eliminating in the experiment all possibility of hybrid 

 origin. Experiments to determine this have been inau- 

 gurated, but at least four or five years must elapse before 

 their results can be communicated. In view of our 

 experience with other laciniate forms and provided the 

 variety produces good seed, the question can hardly be 

 answered in the negative, though in view of the opinions 

 expressed by others we must reserve our decision until 

 the question has been answered by the plant itself. For 

 this is, after all, the only method which, though perhaps 

 tedious at times, will lead to a sane and safe conclusion. 

 Those in sympathy with this idea realize one need not go 

 far from home to find material as abundant, as interest- 

 ing, as instructive, as important, as can be met with at a 

 greater distance. And while the exploration of new or 

 difficultly accessible regions offers many attractions, he to 

 whom such an opportunity is not given need not feel 

 slighted, for work nearer home offers the advantage of 

 greater facility, especially of observation. Working 

 along lines similar to those followed by de Vries, Veit 

 Wittrock, Dahlstedt and Nillson, it is to the botanic 

 garden we must look for a solution of our problems. 



