BARJDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



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SCIENCE-GOSSIP" BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB 



REPORT FOR 1878. 



, O fewer than twenty- 

 five working mem- 

 bers during the 

 past season have 

 forwarded parcels 

 for exchange. 

 Most of the collec- 

 tions were small, 

 though they were 

 excellently pre- 

 served and label- 

 led. We prefer, 

 however, mention- 

 ing any novelty 

 (with the locality 

 where it was col- 

 lected), although 

 we feel bound to 

 give any notes for- 

 warded with the 

 parcels when they 

 are of public interest. Thus, Mr. Cunnack, ofHelston, 

 writes : — 



" Lavatera sylvestris : without doubt wild on 

 Tresco, St. Agnes, and St. Mary's, Scilly Isles, 

 especially on the first-named. Valerianella carinata : 

 very plentiful near the town of Helston. Mentha 

 pubescens, Willd. : authenticated by Dr. Syme. Plen- 

 tiful in the corner of a damp meadow near Pengersick 

 Castle, in the parish of Breaze, about five miles west 

 of Helston. M. sylvestris is particularly abundant 

 close to it. Two forms of M. pubescens were observed, 

 one spicate, the other a subspicate form. Echium 

 violaceum : in great plenty in fields near St. Just, West 

 Cornwall, one where potatoes had been planted being 

 full of it, presenting a beautiful appearance. There 

 were thousands of specimens in full flower. There 

 seems no reasonable doubt of its being a native. 

 Juncus capitatns : very plentiful this year near Caer- 

 thillian Valley, extending to Gue Graze Valley, about 

 a mile and a half distant." 



Mr. King, of Edinburgh, also notes : — " Symphytum 

 tuberosum : a somewhat local plant in the neighbour- 

 hood of Edinburgh, where we gathered the specimens 

 sent on the banks of the Braid Burn. The plant is 

 No. 170. 



plentiful on the shady side of the rivulet ; on the 

 opposite bank we saw not a single specimen. On 

 the banks of the Water of Leith, near Bonnington, we 

 have gathered a stray plant, mixed with the butterbur 

 and other coarse plants. Lolium temulentum, Linn., 

 is another local species in our neighbourhood, and 

 about Leith, waste ground in proximity to the docks, 

 and adjoining sea-beach, this plant is found less or 

 more for these three years back. In the month of 

 July, I found a single clump on the banks of the Firth 

 of Forth, about one mile west from Granton. The 

 variety arve?ise I have not collected previous to the 

 past summer. Car ex pendula, Linn. : on the railway 

 bank near Trinity, where I gathered this plant, the 

 soil is poor and wet, the rusty water oozing out in all 

 directions. This sedge favours a soil containing com- 

 pounds of iron." 



Mr. A. Brotherston observes several good things, 

 as follows: — " Salix Russelliana, var. : very near, if 

 not quite, fragilis on the one hand, to alba on the 

 other ; apparently it is a hybrid between these two. 

 The male, which was unknown to Sir J. E. Smith, is 

 not uncommon in this district. Ranunculus fluitans, 

 var. Bachii, Wirt. : Tweed, near Kelso, and Teviot 

 near Roxburgh Castle, July, 1878. I send a few 

 specimens from four different plants, some of them 

 with well-developed floating leaves. Though perhaps 

 not typical Bachii, they are nearest that form." 



We were glad to be able to distribute this valuable 

 specimen to all our members. We trust they will 

 study it carefully ; perhaps some of them may be able 

 to note other characteristics. Also, a few carefully 

 selected examples of what we suppose to be Salix 

 ambigua, Ehrh., are sent out. Is not S. ambigua a 

 variable hybrid betwixt S. repens and 6". aurita ? 

 These specimens are for comparison with others. 



Picris hieracioides, var. arvalis : Tweedside, near 

 Kelso, June, 1878. Probably introduced with grass 

 seeds. Carex Watsoni, Syme : Tweedside, Makers- 

 town, Roxburgh, June, 1878. Plentiful many places 

 on Tweedside, occurring in long narrow beds close to 

 the edge of the river. Potamogeton pectinatus, L. : 

 Teviot, near Kelso, Roxburgh, July, 1878. This is a 

 common species on the borders. 



Mrs. Edwards finds Eranthis hyemalis in a wood at 



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