— 9— 



any longer. His argument is based on its abundance in the 

 station where he found it growing in Alabama ; the assumption 

 being that such abundance is inconsistent with the theory of its 

 hybrid origin. It does not appear, however, from anything 

 which he has published that either of its supposed parents were 

 absent altogether, if I understand the report of his statements 

 before the Torrey Club, in the Bulletin rightly. The situation, 

 I take it, was about like this : — Ebenoides was growing under 

 overhanging rocks in deep recesses, while above on the flat sur- 

 face Camptosoms grew, and below grew Asplenium ebeneum, — 

 and this seems to me to be an ideal situation for the reception 

 and germination of windblown or fugitive spores. Once estab- 

 lished, a plant endowed with the faculty of multiplying by means 

 of proliferous buds, as ebenoides is capable of doing, would 

 naturally increase rapidly, and with the added protection of a 

 secluded spot seldom visited, the abundance of ebenoides there 

 might be accounted for. Now all this may be wrong, but Dr. 

 Underwood has not published anything to show that it is wrong, 

 and it is both probable and possible Here then is a disturbing 

 element that will prevent the acceptance of his opinion until it is 

 supplemented by more convincing evidence or positive proof. 



A recent writer in the Linncean Fern Bulletin thinks that the 

 burden of proof rests upon those who maintain the hybrid origin 

 for this species. I do not agree with him. I have always sup- 

 posed that the burden of proving a long accepted theory false 

 rested on those who questioned it. Now in the light of recent in- 

 vestigations it seems possible for one properly equipped for the 

 undertaking, to prove whether ebenoides is a hybrid or not. If it 

 is not, but is really a good species, then its spores ought to 

 germinate, and yet I know of but one effort in this direction, and 

 as I never heard of any results from it, I supposed it failed ; if it 

 is a hybrid, being a bigeneric one, it ought by every presumption 

 of reason, to be sterile and its spores would not germinate. But 

 no attempt has ever been made that I know of to obtain ebeno- 

 ides by crossing Camptosoms and ebeneum, as Prof. Eaton sug- 

 gested long ago, and as Lowe's successful experiments show 

 might be done. 



Ebenoides certainly possesses in a marked degree characters 

 belonging to both of its supposed parents, and if it could once be 

 produced by crossing, the question would be definitely settled. 

 But until this is done its pedigree will continue to remain an open 



