The Scottish Naturalist. 125 



and Tortula all form one great germs, on which be bestows the 

 name Tortula. Of course, had Mitten had occasion to mention 

 Didymodon rufus as included in this great genus, he would have 

 called it Tortula rufa, and according to the modern system, 

 his name would have come after it ; but he, dealing with the 

 general points of his classification and not with details, has no 

 occasion to mention it. But Dr. Braithwaite, who follows 

 Mitten's system, has occasion to mention the plant, calls it, 

 under the compulsitor of Mitten's system Tortula rufa, and is 

 perhaps the first to do so. On this account, the name of 

 Lorentz appears within parenthesis as a secondary name in 

 connection with the plant, and Dr. Braithwaite's appears as 

 nominator in chief. No one will surely say that this is fair. 

 But this is our modern plan, by which we have very much 

 driven away the names of our older botanists from our books; 

 and it is a plan against which we loudly protest. 



In the Synopsis about 560 species are described. Several 

 of these, such as Campy lopus breinfolius, Bryupt apiculatum, 

 Atrichum tenellum, &c, are admitted on insufficient authority 

 or by mistake ; whilst we observe an occasional confusion of 

 species as when it is stated that Trichostomum zonatuvi and 

 Trichostomum tenue var. glaciate are the same, we notice that 

 Dicranum glaciate Berg, and D. arcticum Schpr. are described 

 as two distinct species, whereas they are precisely the same 

 plant under two names. Hypuum Breadalbanense and Hyp. 

 rupestre B.W., seem to us not only misplaced among the 

 cupressiforme group, but in all likelihood one and the same, 

 and identical with Hyp. sulcatum Schpr. which again cannot 

 well be other than a stunted state of Hyp. falcatum Bridel. 

 Though these and others have to be subtracted from the 

 number here recorded as British, a good number, principally 

 of Scottish species, must be added. Among these are Sphagnum 

 papillosum Lindb., 6". Ki?ilayanu?n\\\\s., S. Zindbergii, Phascum 

 intermedium, Weissia co?npacta, Grimmia alpestris, Mnium 

 insigne Mitten, Bryumfallax, Hyp. subpinnatum, glaciate, Star kit, 

 Schimperi, Fontinalis minor, &c. Besides, we notice an exceed- 

 ingly large number of rather rare mosses set down as having 

 been found only south of the Tweed or in Ireland, whereas they 

 have been detected (often in many places) in Scotland — 

 Didymodon rccurvifolius, Ortkotric/ium obtusifoliam y Tortula pa- 



