694 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



cuttings or graftings or preserved by heredity. This part of the memoir 

 is by no means the least interesting. It is thus that M. Edouard Lefort 

 has fixed a graft hybrid Potato which bears his name, which com- 

 bines -the characteristics of two varieties, ' Marjolin ' and ' Imperator.' 

 M. Daniel has obtained analogous results, having fixed and reproduced 

 by seed a new variety of hardy forage Cabbage. M. Jurie has fixed the 

 variety 340a of the Vine by cuttings and graftings. Other plants, Roses, 

 for instance, could not be fixed, and the Aubergines and Pimentos have 

 yielded no seeds. In other cases the results were indefinite. M. Daniel 

 grafted the Wild Carrot on the Red Carrot, and the resulting seed gave 

 plants some annual, some biennial, some with three normal cotyledons, 

 others three with one bifid, others two with one bifid, and others only 

 one. In short, asexual hybridisation, according to M. Daniel, is neither 

 constant, regular, nor frequent. It sometimes affects directly the grafted 

 plants and sometimes indirectly their descendants, sometimes the external 

 characters and sometimes the internal ; sometimes there is disunion, as 

 in Cytisus Adami, and at others the heredity and constancy are perfect, 

 or they may be partial or non-existent. Sometimes also it is possible to 

 predict the results. But the main practical points, which cannot be too 

 strongly impressed on horticulturists, is that in many cases grafting has 

 already served to realise a systematic perfecting of plants. Thus, as M, 

 Daniel remarks, if it be desired to improve a plant in a certain direction 

 it must be grafted on a stock superior in that particular feature ; for 

 instance, in order to produce a hardy Cabbage a perfectly hardy stock 

 was chosen, altogether irrespective of inferiority in other points. The 

 danger is also pointed out of degeneration being induced by grafting in 

 lieu of improvement ; a risk which is run by prevalent methods of Vine 

 grafting to avoid phylloxera, by which the special qualities (cms) are 

 endangered. 



M. Lindemuth is another investigator in this direction, who published 

 a paper in the Garten flora of January 1 last, from which we cite a few 

 extracts. He grafted Solanum erythrocarpon on S. Ly coper sicum 

 (developed exceptionally strongly); Yellow Stock on Red Cabbage (flowered 

 exceptionally early) ; hybrid Petunia on Nicotiaua, Abutilon Thompsoni 

 on Sida Napcea, and Abutilon Thompsoni on Althcea narbonensis. Vide 

 Abstracts " Interesting Grafts " for further remarks in this connection. 



a t. d. 



Root Gravitation. 



Gravitational Sensitiveness of the Root tip, On a Method of 

 Investigating" the. By Francis Darwin, F.R.S. (Journ. Linn. Soc, 

 Bot. vol. xxxv. p. 2G6 ; July 21, 1902). — Details and figures are given of 

 the experiments made to show the gravitational sensitiveness of the root- 

 tip. The experiments were made with the seeds of Sorghum and Beans, 

 in order to confirm some experiments made by Czapek, which some work 

 of Wachtel seemed to contradict, and they were eminently successful. 

 The details of the experiments it is impossible to condense, but the 

 results proved the sensitiveness of the root-tip to the force of gravitation. 



G. S. S. 



