284 T. W. Woodhead and M. M. Brierley. 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CLIMBING HABIT IN 
ANTIRRHINUM MAJUS, 
By T. W. Woodhead, Ph.D., F.L.S. 
AND 
Mabel M. Brierley. 
[Plates II., III. and IV. and Text-Figs. 33—37. 
N recent years considerable interest has been taken in, and 
much attention paid to, the apparently sudden appearances of 
new characters in plants and animals. The work of Bateson and 
De Vries and of the school of energetic pupils that is growing up 
around them, has done much to bring these curious occurrences 
into line and also to give a steadily growing solidarity to the theory 
of mutation and to emphasise the importance of the discontinuity 
of variation. 
Many of these so-called sports, though seemingly trivial in 
themselves, have their place in the scheme of evolution and a 
study of them is gradually helping towards a better elucidation of 
the origin of species. 
It is with a view to adding a small contribution to this 
question, that the present study, which is but a preliminary to 
more extended work, has been undertaken, and deals with the 
appearance of an intermittent variation of a somewhat pronounced 
type. We have tried to avoid any temptation to push the facts 
beyond their legitimate limits and have been content, in the main, 
to place on record the facts observed, which we hope are of more 
than passing interest. 
The illustrations, only a few of many which might have been 
given, will serve to show how prevalent, as well as how remarkable 
are the variations we have to describe. 
That Antirrhinum majus does occasionally develop the twining 
habit has been frequently observed. Schenck 1 records climbing 
specimens and gives a figure (PI. I., fig. 8); Pfeffer 2 refers to “cer¬ 
tain European species of this genus” as being “inefficient branch 
climbers and Professor F. W. Oliver informs us that he observed 
climbing specimens in Kew Gardens in the early nineties, while 
1 H. Schenck. Biol, der Lianen, 1892. I. Theil. pp. 177 8 and 
PI. I., fig. 8. 
W. Pfeffer. Physiology of Plants. Engl. Transl., 1906, Vol. 
III., p. 45. 
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