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these to the elucidation of genera and species, beyond one or two limited 
exceptions on the Continent. 
In a group of plants so large and intricate as the Lichens, it is hardly to 
be expected that we can have a system of classification which will be satis- 
factory to all minds. Nylander’s has its faults to some, in tending too 
much to trivial division and multiplication of species ; but this, to a certain 
extent, is the natural result of observing the sporidia, and the physico- 
chemical character of the plant. The principles in Nylander’s classification 
are the only ones on which a natural arrangement could be built up. He 
commences with those Lichens which, by their gelatinous nature, are most 
nearly allied to the Algw, and above which they rise in the scale of vege- 
tation ; and closes with those most allied to, and which run into the Fungi. 
The whole system, in its leading divisions, rests upon the nature of the 
lichen-thallus, with the modifications and gradations it assumes in develop- 
ment ; combined with a due regard to the reproductive organs, the form of 
the apothecium or fruit, and the shape, divisions, and colour of the spores. 
Dr. Nylander further adopts, in a subsidiary way, the use of certain 
chemical reagents which, as confirmatory tests, are of considerable value. 
According to Dr. Nylander’s system, the Lichens of Great Britain are 
divided into four families, the proportions of which are relatively wide. 
The last of the four, that of Lichens proper, is many times larger than the 
other three put together. The number of species and varieties now recognized 
in the United Kingdom is upwards of 1,720; so that this one branch alone 
of our Cryptogamia, far outnumbers all the flowering plants found in our 
Islands. Within the last nine years, more than five hundred and sixty 
new species and varieties have been added to our Lichen-flora, bringing it 
up, as Mr. Leighton remarks, to an equality in numbers and rarity, with 
that of any other country in Europe. 
Now, what is the position of Cumberland in relation to our 
Lichen-flora? So far as we have been able to ascertain, no 
particular record has hitherto been made. In the geographical 
list of Leighton’s Lichen-Flora of Great Britain, &c., a few plants 
are named as having been found in this County: chiefly in the 
neighbourhood of Keswick, by Mrs. Stanger; and by myself, in 
the locality of Alston Moor. But those here mentioned give little 
idea of the Lichen-flora which immediately surrounds us. What- 
ever its productions in the Flowering Plants, there is no doubt 
that Cumberland is favourable to the fostering of a flourishing 
Cryptogamia, and especially of the Lichen-group. This might be 
inferred from a slight knowledge of its varied physical aspect—its 
