806 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



flowers of sulphur gets rid of green fly. Millipedes and earwigs may 

 be trapped in hollow bones or pieces of potato. — S. E. W. 



Utricularia longifolia (Bot. Mag. tab. 8516). — Family Lenti- 

 bulariaceae. Brazil. Herb, densely tufted, stolons numerous ; with 

 slender filiform bladder-bearing rhizoids. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 

 12 inches long. Flowers 10 or less. Corolla bright purple, ij inch 

 across. — G. H. 



Variation and Environment. By C. T. Druery (Gard. Mag. 

 No. 3114, p. 492; July 5, 1913). — How " sports " arise we cannot 

 attempt to explain, and to those who have carefully studied the 

 phenomena presented by our native ferns it is, at any rate, perfectly 

 clear that variation occurs quite independently of environment or 

 change of environment. At the same time there are, no doubt, cases 

 where change of environment has caused plants to assume different 

 habits. The writer regrets that the natural sports of our native ferns 

 have not been more carefully studied, a work made easier because 

 of the extensive collections of dried and living specimens which are 

 in existence. 



The majority of these sports are found growing under precisely 

 the same conditions as the innumerable normals among which they 

 appear ; hill-sides removed from cultural influences have afforded 

 hundreds of these discoveries, and yet the conditions here must have 

 been the same for ages. Examples are given of certain wild forms, 

 which are cultivated in varied environments, yet the spores of these 

 in every case produce the same " sports," often in definite proportions, 

 repeated sowings giving the same results from whatever source the 

 spores are obtained. — E. B. 



Variation and Environment. By J. E. Simms (Gard. Mag. 

 No. 3119, p. 602 ; August 9, 1913). — The student of plant variability 

 is working almost in the dark, striving to construct something solid 

 from the hazy nebula of theory — glimmers of light are at best feeble 

 and flickering, and may be positively deceiving. We often hear it 

 advanced that in plants there is an inherent tendency to vary — the 

 author believes the direct opposite to be the case. No varietal 

 difference ever occurs as the result of an innate directive force specially 

 applied to that end; the natural tendency is to preserve constancy 

 and stability of a species. " Breaks " are attributable to some 

 outside influence ; some wild species in their native habitat seem more 

 inclined to vary than others. In suggesting what the modifying 

 agents may be we must not forget that it is possible such influences 

 may have been operating for untold ages, and that varieties sprang 

 into existence in greater numbers in the early stages of evolution, 

 when structure was more simple. Thus ferns would be expected to 

 depart from the normal type more than flowering plants, so also 

 mosses and lichens. The idea that environment is capable of effecting 

 permanent change is discarded ; the variety-forming influence often 

 selects one specimen from amongst many growing under the same 



