1852] BOTANICAL CORRESPONDENCE. 317 



your bundles of Cyperaceae, and find all the duplicate specimens 

 named E. palustris, E. uniglumis, and E. multicaulis (for it may lie 

 hid under either of them) from Cantire and the neighbourhood, and 

 let me have the examination of them here. I need, I trust, hardly 

 say that they (all but a bit of the new one if I find it) shall be 

 safely returned to you. I want to make it out, if possible, before 

 the last sheet of Watson's " Cybele," Vol. ill., is printed, and he has 

 now commenced printing that volume. Send the packet to me by 

 some mode other than through the hands of Pamplin, as he never 

 forwards parcels promptly. Some weeks since I received a circular 

 stating that the new part of "Botanical Society Transactions" was 

 sent through his hands to me at Taylor's. If he had delivered it 

 then, I should have received it in my parcel at the commencement of 

 this month — not so however. I am glad to learn that the Botanical 

 Society is going on so well, but could have wished that out of the 

 fifty at a late meeting, twenty-five or thirty had spent 6s. a year, 

 -and so kept the "Botanical Gazette" in existence. I have been 

 .greatly disappointed at the little that was done to support it by 

 extending its circulation last spring. All who spoke of it said that 

 they wished it to go on, but none seemed inclined to take any real 

 trouble to make it go on. I state this advisedly from having been 

 told the exact number of new subscribers for this past year ; which 

 was ridiculously small, and nearly the whole were names obtained 

 here or at Glasgow. However, it is gone now, as no one could be 

 •expected to go on losing largely every year. — Yours very truly, 

 Charles C. Babington. 



P.S. — Have you seen Newman's wonderful "Synoptical Table 

 -of British Ferns " 1 Nearly all the names are 7iew. Watson says, 

 "I shall declare war against Mr. Newman's new filicetal nomen- 

 clature," and so I believe that I shall have to do after I have 

 •studied it, which I have not yet done. 



To the same. 

 St. John's College, Cambridge, Jan. 9, 1852. 

 Dear Balfour, — The Hieracium is very difficult, and I cannot 

 quite satisfy myself concerning it. It is much like praealticm, and 

 probably is a form of it, although the distribution of praealtum is 

 against our having it in Britain. H. collinum is a much more 

 probable plant to occur with us — but then there are difficulties 

 Avhich seem to keep your plant away from it. Are you quite sure 

 that the plant is native ? As if really so, it will prove a more than 

 usually valuable addition to our list. Much care should be taken 

 to find out its true character in that respect. I cannot avoid feeling 

 very great doubt concerning its claims to enter our list. Did the 

 finder get many specimens 1 I am sorry to say that there is only 

 one little specimen (from Tayinloan) of the new Eleocharis. I have 

 •carefully divided it, and shall return the better half to you. With 



