SAG IN A NIVALIS 31 



Professor Babington's remarks agree with my own observa- 

 tions. I note that M. N. and A. Blytt, in " Norges Flora," 

 state " Blomsterne 5-delelige," also that in Hooker's "Students' 

 Flora," Ed. 3, 1884, it ' ls made a sub-species of Linncsi, with 

 flowers 5 -rarely 4-merous. All appear to have followed 

 Fries, who seems to have described a 5 -partite flower. I 

 have over forty specimens before me as I write, half of which 

 (from the Brit. Herb., Edin.) were very kindly shown me for 

 purposes of comparison by Professor Bayley Balfour, M.D., 

 to whom I feel much indebted for the privilege ; the others 

 are from various stations in our own Highlands, as well as 

 from the Dovrefjeld, Norway, and I cannot detect a hair of 

 any kind on one of them. 



Professor Babington remarks that, in Norway and on 

 Ben Lawers, 6". uivalis seems to grow at great elevations. 

 In my experience the various heights for the Scottish plants 

 vary from 2500 feet on Craig-an-Lochain to 3250 feet on 

 Ben Lawers ; while near Kongsvold on the Dovrefjeld it 

 occurred at an elevation of about 4000 feet. 



I think Mr. Bennett, in asking botanists to re-gather this 

 plant, was quite justified in saying " if possible," as this is 

 one of the rarest of our alpine plants, though I have gathered 

 it all alone: the Breadalbane range from Ben Lawers to 



o -> 



Chreag Mhor at the head of Glen Lochay. For obvious 

 reasons I do not care to state distinctly the stations for it 

 presently known to me ; but as it may interest many botanists 

 to know where Professor Balfour first found it, and where 

 small plants are to be got even now, I may say it was about 

 50 feet above the saddle -back between Ben Lawers and 

 Meal Garbh, as you ascend Ben Lawers from the Lochain-a- 

 Chait side the only station, so far as I am aware, known to 

 Dr. Buchanan White for it. The plant, like many more of 

 our Arctic species, is dying out, and only very small plants 

 are to be seen now. I do not think there is the least chance 

 of collecting one of these large plants that were often met 

 with twenty years ago. 



The subject is one which merits some attention ; and it 

 seems to me that, if Mr. Bennett can afford the time, he 

 would find it interesting to study the various forms of Sagina 

 occurring in the Breadalbane district, more especially those 



