BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 139 



nent botanists. The latter plant did not ripen its fruit until 

 six weeks afterwards ; but throughout the Pyrenees, nothing 

 can be more abundant, although in England, one so rarely 

 meets with fructified specimens. The var. terrestris (as it is 

 called) of Cinclidotus riparius, I found growing on stones and 

 the roots of trees, even on the tops of hills ! It was in full 

 fruit on the 1 8th of May, while the aquatic variety I was not 

 able to get in that state until the month of November, a cir- 

 cumstance which induces me to think that the two may pos- 

 sibly be distinct. An interesting Hypnum, from Juraneon, 

 is the H. rigidulum, of Bruch, which comes near our Tees- 

 dalii. Hepaticce were not numerous, but I found a very 

 pretty new JungermannuB, creeping on Weissia verticillata ; its 

 habit is that of J. scalaris, but the leaves are less orbicular 

 and the calyx is bilabiate and slightly exserted. Not having 

 seen the J. scalariformis of Nees, I am unable to form an 

 opinion as to its identity with my plant. The Lichens I 

 gathered, included Parmelia Clementiana, P. chrysophthalma } 

 P. rubiginosa, Sticta limbata, &c. Near Juraneon there is a 

 Collema on the trees, which is quite meteoric ; in wet weather, 

 and especially after thunder-storms, it springs up as suddenly 

 as a mushroom, forming globular, tremelloid masses, covered 

 with apothecia. Leon Dufour has observed the same near 

 St. Sever, but has never been able to determine it satis- 

 factorily. 



The three last days in May were occupied in an experi- 

 mental visit to the mountains. Oleron, at the entrance of 

 the Vallee d'Aspe, was the place selected for my debut, 

 out I was still too early — the rain descended continually, 

 and though the snow was rapidly melting, it was not ne- 

 cessary to mount very high in order to reach it. I was in the 

 field however one whole day, but did not gather what repaid 

 m e for the wetting, and my Oleron collection includes only 

 fynoglossum pictum, an Orobanche, finely fruited specimens 

 of Hypnum incurvatum, some Brya, and a few other things 

 °f less note. 



On my return, I found a letter from Dr. Dufour, con- 

 taining a very pressing invitation to pass a few days with 



