stems covered with glandular pubescence, sub-lucid leaves, 

 the denticulations of" which are nearly equal, with all the 

 under surface and petioles covered by glandular pubescence: 

 its stipulae are also distinct and deciduous. But in R. nut- 

 kanus the stems are decidedly flexuose, and destitute of 

 all hairiness or armature, except now and then a weak 

 solitary bristle; its leaves are not lucid, and neither they 

 nor the petioles have any glands ; the denticulations are 

 very unequal ; and the stipulee are persistent and connate 

 by their upper margins, as is shewn in the figure at 1. 

 Add to this, the flowers of R. nutkanus are smaller, and 

 usually appear in threes, while those of R. odoratus form 

 a compound corymbose panicle. R. nutkanus also runs 

 very much at the root, which R. odoratus does not. But 

 in the wild state some of these distinctions disappear. 

 The petioles of R. nutkanus are glandular, and the flowers 

 are as large as those of R. odoratus ; the difl'erence in the 

 denticulations also ceases to be appreciable. Are these 

 plants, then, mere varieties or distinct species ? This can 

 only be answered by going into an inquiry which our limits 

 preclude ; it involves the question of whether the separa- 

 tion of European Rubuses into numerous species has been 

 judicious or not; and within what bounds the specific cha- 

 racters of the genus are to be confined. To us it seems 

 that, if the distinction between the Rubus corylifolius and 

 coesius of English Botanists be once admitted as valid, it 

 is impossible to avoid receiving all the others that have 

 recently been distinguished, unless the characters of species 

 are wholly arbitrary, and not to be determined upon any 

 fixed principles. We have before insisted upon the exist- 

 ence of a wide diflference between Botanical and Natural 

 species, and this appears to be confirmed by daily expe- 

 rience. 



J. L. 



