Boiaftt/. 441 



fitilis abounds in the Severn ; but it scarcely ever flowers, unless the river 

 is so low as to expose its herbage to the influence of the sun, when it 

 flowers profusely. From the continued dry weather this summer, the 

 Severn became very shallow, leaving masses of the R. fluviatilis stranded 

 on the shore, and on June 7. all the shallows of the river were beautifully 

 white with the flowers, many of which were double ; and one blossom 

 I dissected had 15 petals; but in less than a week, partial heavy rains 

 produced a rise of about 9 in. in the river, every specimen was submerged 

 ^and not a vestige of the plants are visible to the eye. 



Did space allow me, I might enlarge upon the relative scarcity of plants ; 

 for how often it happens that those which are rare in one place are abun- 

 dant in another ; and I think your correspondents should not be blamed 

 if they insert in their list plants which may appear common to some, but 

 which are not in reality generally distributed. How very common the Adoxa 

 Moschatellina is in the neighbourhood of Wellington, Salop, while here 

 the botanist would search the country in vain for it. Cotyledon Umbi- 

 licus, a rare rock plant here, is a common denizen of every wall about 

 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. 0''rchis pyramidalis covers whole fields 

 on the south side of the Wrekin, Salop, though in this neighbour- 

 hood it is rare, and I have only met with it at Malvern. -4nthjllis Vul- 

 neraria grows abundantly on the transition limestone, west of Malvern, 

 but I find it no where else in this neighbourhood. In Shrawley Woods, 

 with a light sandy soil, the abundance of Convallaria majalis is astonish- 

 ing; but our other woods on the heavy marl might be searched for it in 

 vain. In a fallow field, near Bridgenorth, I noticed, in 1823, the most 

 luxuriant and beautiful specimens of ^^chium vulgare I ever beheld, full 

 3 ft. in altitude ; while around this city I never met with a specimen, 

 except a starveling 6 in. plant, gathered by a friend from a wall near 

 Evesham. In the same rich meadows by the Severn between Coalport 

 and Bridgenorth, the 7'nula Helenitim makes a magnificent appearance with 

 its golden sun-flower ; but I never met with a specimen lower down the 

 river. The Tanacetum vulgare, indeed, abounds on the banks of the Severn, 

 giving the richest appearance to the scene when in full flower, but in 

 mountainous situations it becomes uncommon. I was once delighted 

 with the sight of twenty or thirty full grown plants of the Orobanche 

 elatior in a single clover field at the northern base of the Wrekin, Salop, 

 each plant nearly a yard high, but I have never since observed such a 

 spectacle. I have observed the Origanum vulgare most abundantly, both 

 with purple and white flowers, at the base of the Mendip Hills, Somerset- 

 shire, but here I find it very scarce, even on calcareous soil. I have perhaps 

 dilated too much on this to me delightful subject, and shall therefore 

 close ; leaving my apology with you and your readers in the fine language 

 of James Montgomery : — 



" We but begin to live from that fine point. 



Which memory dwells on, with the morning star, 



The earliest note we heard the cuckoo sing. 



Or the first daisy that we ever pluck'd, 



When thoughts themselves were stars, and birds, and flowers." 



1 am, Sir, yours, &c. — Echvin Lees. Worcester, June 23. 1829. 



T/ie Localisation of Plants b^ Man. — " We fancy that Mr. Dovaston 

 little anticipated the animadversions to which he so innocently subjected 

 himself by his candid acknowledgment (Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 400.) of 

 his patronage of the supposed foreigner Linaria Cj^mbalaria. That serious 

 complaints should be advanced " [see Mag, Nat. Hist., vol. iii. p. 460, 461.; 

 vol. iv. p.439.] " against any individual for increasing the beauties, and adding 

 to the interest of British scenery, will appear singular to the majority of 

 our readers. Those, however, who have experienced an enthusiastic plea- 



