[232] 'Amoen. Acad.,' i, p. 55, t. iii (1744):--The following note refers to Linne's notion that these forms were due to hybridization. It is extracted from Gmelin's edition of the 'Systema Naturae,' 1791, p. 931. "_Linariae_ proles hybrida, ejusdemque qualitatis et constans, radicibus infinite sese multiplicans charactere fructificationis diversissima, corolla regulari, quinque-corniculata, pentandra, ut genus proprium absolute constitueret et distinctissimum, nisi fructus frequentissime abortiret. Naturae prodigium. Ita quidem a Linne. Verisimilor autem videtur ea opinio, quae peloriam pro peculiari degeneratione monstrosa floris habet, in quam inclinare hoc genus (Linaria) prae aliis, similis a forma deflexio in aliis speciebus, e.g. _spurio Elatine_, _cymbalaria_, observata, ... Merk., 'Goett. gel. Anz.,' 1774, n. 121. Linck, 'Annal. Naturg.,' i, p. 32." [233] 'Bull. Acad. Belg.,' xviii, part i, p. 591. Lobelia, p. 137. [234] See also Seringe, 'Esquisse d'une Monogr. du genre _Aconitum_,' p. 124. [235] Schlotterbec, 'Act. Helvet.,' t. ii, pl. i, Roeper. Balsam, p. 10, note. [236] Masters. "Peloria, &c., _Ophrys aranifera_," 'Journ. Linn. Soc.,' viii, p. 207. [237] Godron, "Mem. sur les Fumariees a fl. irreg.," 'Ann. Sc. Nat.,' ser. 5, vol. ii, tab. xvii, p. 280. [238] 'Bull. Soc. Bot. France,' vol. v, 1858, p. 701. [239] 'Bull. Soc. Bot. France,' vol. vi, 1859, p. 717. [240] 'Variation of Anim. and Plants,' ii, p. 70. [241] Loc. cit., p. 59. [242] 'Theor. Elem.,' ed. 2, p. 266. [243] Cited in 'Bull. Soc. Bot. France,' vol. xiii (Rev. Bibl.), p. 81. PART III. METAMORPHY. Much of the objection with which Goethe's famous essay on the 'Metamorphosis of Plants' was met on its publication may be traced to a misapprehension of the sense in which Goethe employed the word. As used by him, it had nearly the same signification as now applied to the word development by organogenists. It does not necessarily imply that there has been a change in any particular organ, but rather that there has been, to some extent, a change in the plan of construction, in accordance with which a deviation from the customary form results. The particular organ was never anything else than what it is; it has not been metamorphosed in the ordinary sense of the word; for instance, in a double flower, where the stamens are, as it is said, changed or metamorphosed into petals, no absolute change really has taken place--the petal was never a stamen, although it occupies the position of the latter, and may be considered a substitute for it.