41 6 De Vries.— On Biastrepsis in its 
of November had formed about twice as many leaves. They 
were kept warm until the middle of December, when they 
were taken out and put under glass. By the end of May 
they had all (thirty-six) thrown up their shoots, but these 
shoots were decussate right up to the inflorescence. 
In a control-experiment made with the same seed, but 
without artificial heat, the plants were potted off soon after 
germination and were kept under glass in the garden : twenty- 
nine of them threw up stems in the following year, which, as 
was to be expected, were decussate ; nine plants remained in 
the rosette-stage. 
The conclusion to be drawn from all these experiments 
is that whilst it is possible to contract into one year the life- 
cycle of the biennial Dipsacus sylvestris torsus, by sowing the 
seed immediately it is ripe and by hurrying on germination 
and the early stages of growth, this takes place at the cost 
of the biastrepsis, which is either altogether wanting or is 
manifested in only a relatively slight degree. 
G. Cultures in other Botanic Gardens. 
When, in the summer of 1889, the third generation of my 
breed began to show a distinct increase in the percentage of 
twisted individuals, I distributed seed of it for the first time ; 
and I did so at the friendly request of Professor J. Urban of 
the Botanic Garden at Berlin. So successful was the cultiva- 
tion of the breed there, that in the published catalogue of the 
seeds gathered in 1891 there are enumerated no less than 
five varieties of these plants with twisted stems or with three- 
leaved whorls. Since then I have distributed seed in increasing 
quantity, and the cultivation of the breed has been success- 
fully carried out in various Botanic Gardens, although in some 
cases difficulties have been encountered. The plant requires 
not only a good deal of space, open exposure, and loose well- 
manured soil, but special attention in addition, which is often 
begrudged since the species grows wild and is to be met with 
