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Fences and walls are altogether buried by passion-flowers, the night-blowing Cereus, and the tropaeolum, mixed with geraniums, fuchsia, and jessamine, which cluster and entangle over them in indescribable profusion. A soft air moves through the upper branches, and the drip of water from miniature fountains falls musically on the perfumed air. This is midwinter!
The petioles which have clasped some object become much more stiff, hard, and polished than those which have failed in this their proper function. TROPAEOLUM. I observed T. tricolorum, T. azureum, T. pentaphyllum, T. peregrinum, T. elegans, T. tuberosum, and a dwarf variety of, as I believe, T. minus. Tropaeolum tricolorum, var. grandiflorum.
Petioles which have naturally come into contact with a stick, sometimes take two turns round it. After they have clasped a support, they become rigid and hard. Tropaeolum elegans. I did not make many observations on this species. The short and stiff internodes revolve irregularly, describing small oval figures. One oval was completed in 3 hrs.
Eight species of Clematis and seven of Tropaeolum were observed, in order to see what amount of difference in the manner of climbing existed within the same genus; and the differences are considerable. CLEMATIS. C. glandulosa.
Everywhere gardeners are occupied in destroying these "atavists," as they call them. When in full bloom the plants are pulled up and thrown aside. Sometimes the degree of impurity is so high, that great piles of discarded plants of the same species lie about the paths, as I have seen at Erfurt in the ease of numerous varieties of the Indian cress or Tropaeolum.
The petioles of the young leaves are very sensitive: a single light rub with a twig caused one to move perceptibly in 5 m., and another in 6 m. The former became bent at right angles in 15 min., and became straight again in between 5 hrs. and 6 hrs. A loop of thread weighing 0.125th of a grain caused another petiole to curve. Tropaeolum pentaphyllum.
In certain species of Tropaeolum, both the spontaneous movements of the internodes and the sensitiveness of the petioles have become much enfeebled, and in one species have been completely lost.
It seems to be quite constant from seed. Many other instances of peloric flowers are on record. Indian cress or Tropaeolum majus loses the spur in some double varieties and with it most of its symmetrical structure; it seems to be considered justly as a peloric malformation. Other species produce such anomalies only from time to time and nothing is known about their hereditary tendency.
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