—2 9 — 



some other genus, the fact can be indicated by enclosing 

 the author's name in parenthesis. This is the method 

 long in use by ornithologists, and it seems to work satis- 

 factorily. We look to see it adopted soon by all other 

 branches of science. We have adopted it in the new list 

 of species published in this journal, and the same method 

 was used in the editor's '' Fern Allies." So accustomed 

 have botanists been, however, to expect an author to 

 claim all species in which the parenthesis is not followed 

 by an author-citation that an official in one of our great 

 herbariums seeing the second citation omitted in the 

 " Fern Allies " wrote to the author to inquire if he meant 

 to claim all those species as his own ! This way of indi- 

 cating the species, on the contrary, removes entirely the 

 excuse for anyone claiming a species he did not discover, 

 and gives no credit to the nomenclaturist for juggling 

 the names about. By its use we may avoid many serious 

 upheavals in the future and ultimately get each species 

 firmly connected with a single scientific name. 



The publication of De Yries' views on the origin of 

 species by mutation is likely to have a rather disquieting 

 effect upon the radical species-maker. De V r ries claims 

 that species do not become differentiated gradually, as 

 Darwin taught, but that new species spring full-fledged, 

 as it were, from older ones. By cultivating various plants 

 he has actually been able to see them throw off these new 

 forms. This certain species have done again and again, 

 and he properly concludes that these various forms are 

 all part of one systematic species. To these minor forms 

 he has given the name of elementary species. Some 

 systematic species are known to be made up of immense 

 numbers of these elementary species, the common little 

 whitlow-grass (Draba verna) possessing more than two 

 hundred. Although De Vries has only attempted to show 

 the method by which new species and varieties have 

 arisen, we believe the facts he has demonstrated also 



