262 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
and his opinions deserve special notice. He groups the above species 
under R. rubrum, and then distinguishes many elementary species. 
This arrangement has now been superseded by Janczewski. The 
great distinctions between R. vulgare, R. rubrum, and R. petraeum are 
sufficient to give them specific rank. What is now correctly known as 
R. vulgare was divided by Hedlund into R. sylvestre and R. hortense. 
They both possess pale-green flowers, but in sylvestre the receptacle is 
generally tinted red, whereas in hortense it is not, and small differences 
in the leaves and anthers are specified. From this he proceeds to 
argue that no white varieties are descended from hortense, and some 
historical data are based upon this supposition. It is, however, evident 
that this red eye would not appear in a White Currant, which is a 
true albino, and the presence or absence of a pigmented " eye " can 
* hardly suffice to establish species. To group these two under vulgare, 
as Janczewski has done, is obviously right. The true R. rubrum is 
represented by several elementary species, scandicum, pubescens, &c. 
These are considered as varieties of R. rubrum by Janczewski. R. 
petraeum is given specific rank, and bullatum placed as a variety. 
The conclusions Hedlund arrives at are as follows :■ — 
(1) " That cultivation produces varieties with white berries or 
variegated leaves, which, in consequence of physical weakness, can with 
difficulty attain full growth in nature." It is, of course, quite un- 
proven that cultivation has produced these; it has preserved them. 
The white varieties are often of weak growth, but several very vigorous 
varieties exist. 
" That the fruits of those grown for the berries are larger than 
those grown in the wild state." This is not correct. Several forms 
of R. petraeum have been found uncultivated with fruits as large and 
bunches as long as any cultivated variety. 
(2) " That the cultivated elementary species are like those occurring 
naturally (wild)." This is doubtless true, but does not agree with the 
writer's previous statements as to the increase of size due to culti- 
vation ; this, by his argument, should have " improved " them. 
(3) " That amongst the hybrids due to cultivation some are not 
known in a wild state." 
(4) " That through multiplications of hybrids different varieties were 
obtained which unite many of the cultivated elementary species." 
Of these last two propositions the first may be disproved at any 
time. The last is, in my opinion, a true statement of the origin of the 
cultivated Red Currants. 
The next account of the genesis of the Red Currant is that of 
Janczewski, " Ancetres des Groseilliers a Grappes " ( 3 ) (1909), in which, 
as has been pointed out above, the three species R. vulgare, R. 
petraeum, and R. rubrum are separated and the part that each has 
played is discussed in some detail. The author collected from various 
nurseries in Europe a number of Red Currants and studied them 
carefully, and he concluded that R. vulgare had played the main 
part in the production of the Red Currant. He quotes some forty- 
