The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1906-04-17
MUTATIONS oF PLANTS. NM


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Aorticulturists the World Over.
In a lecture delivered before the
Barnard Botanical Club, Columbia Uni
yersity, upon heredity and the origin
Of species in plants, announcement OF an
important result Of his Investigations
was made by Or. Daniel Trembly Mac
Dougal, lately OF the New York Bot
anical Garden, who has just been APP
pointed director of the department of
botanical research, Carnegie Institu-
ton Of Washington.
After discussing various theories and
observations in regard to the origin of
species the lecturer spoke of the not
able experiment Of Professor Hugo De
vries in the examination of more than
100 species OF plants in the vicinity
Of Amsterdam, Holland. He tim said:
During the last few years partial
duplication and an extension of these
experiments has been carried on In
New York (by the lecturer himself. 1t
seems unnecessary at this late date
to go into the details Of the mutations
of Lamarck's evening primrose, es-
pecially since the phenomena exhibited
by them are also to be seen in other
species. BY way Of illustration 1t need
only be said that this plant, as origin
ally observed by De Vrics. was found
to give from two to five plantlets in
every hundred which were widely di-
vergent from the type. and could, upon
maturity, be arranged In several
groups, and in fact constituted several
possible species.
Recent cultures in the New York
Botanical Garden from seeds OF La
marek's evening primrose. sent from
various parts Of the world where the
species is under cultivation. demon
strates that it is not alone the plants
observed by De vries at Hilversum
that are mutating, but the same deriva-
tiyes are being given of In widely sep
arated localities"
DR.. MacDougal announced as fol-
lows the facts newly established by
him, with his general conclusions on
the subject discussed:
"The changes which result in the
formation of seed mutants must ensue
in the very closing stages of the spor-
ophyte, and here is encountered a fea-
ture not recognized In bud mutations.
that of fairly constant frequency,
which in itself would suggest internal
cause. 1t was determined. however,
to attempt to induce or influence mu-
tation in one of these periods.
"0mitting the details Of technique,
I may say that strong osmotic reagents
and weak solutions of stimulating
mineral salts were injected into ovaries
in such a manner that unfertilized
ovules were subjected to the action
of the fluids, which killed many of
them, but which gave the much de-
sired results in few. In Lamarckiana
and biennis the frequency and char
acter Of the known mutants was unaf-
fected. but in the progeny of the latter
species was found single individual
constituting type hitherto unknown.
This single aberrant individual
might have been a mutant of low fire.
quency, comparable to gigas derived
from LamaFckiana. and its recurrence
here might have been merely matter
of chance. However, in another spe-
cies of evening primrose. Ramlannia
odorata. a flower which belongs to a
separate genus of the family, and is not
known to be mutating. the treatment
described resulted in large number
Of aberrant individuals of a hitherto
unknown type. Some Of these, which
show shorter life cycle than the pa
rental form, and many anatomical d.
vergencies, have been brought to bloom
and TO maturity, and the new form is
obviously a potential species.
''In this experience, exemplified by
specimens Of normal, parental forms,
and aberrant mutants, am able to
offer you conclusive proof that agen-
cies external to the cell may influence
mutations. and consequently exert
profound influence on heredity. 1t
would not be well to exaggerate the
importance Of this result, yet it is evil
dent that the establishment of this
fact marks a long step forward in the
experimental study of inheritance and
the origin of species" New York
Evening Post.