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modern name of its fruit, so the fact, stated by Barnes, that the Water 

 Lilies of the Stour are called dotes, must be held good evidence for an 

 ancient connection between claU and Water Lily. For as on the one 

 hand we cannot regard our Glossaries as a complete record of the case 

 of date, so on the other we must remember that the old English of 

 the Saxon period is now best represented by the dialect of Dorset. 

 The Saxon form of Claverton is Clat-ford-tun, and there is a Clabford 

 in Hants near Andover, where the dat is preserved in its early form. 

 Does not the association in these instances of date with water speak 

 in favour of a water plant with big leaves 1 And does not the natural 

 fact which you mention of the habitat of Water Lilies in the Avon at 

 Claverton lead added force to this presumption ? 



I think these are the chief points of the argument ; but you know 

 in twilight men interpret objects diversely, and if Ellacombe likes his 

 idea better, he has a right to prefer it. One thing, however, I think is 

 quite out of court, and that is the Clover." 



Notwithstanding this letter, Mr. Ellacombe, in reply, said that 

 his opinion had not been in the least shaken, and he thought 

 that the absence of the water lily from old writers, and the fact 

 that it was unknown in England till within the last 100 years, 

 were strong arguments in his favour. 



The Eev. S. Shaw exhibited a plaster cast of an inscription 

 found on the N.E. buttress of his tower during the recent 

 alterations at Twerton. The tower's date was about the 13th or 

 14th century, and the inscription was probably not earlier than 

 the 15th. The inscription was a complete puzzle to antiquaries 

 and he sought a solution from those present. 



On Wednesday, Dec. 8th, there was a large attendance of 

 members and their friends on the occasion of the President 

 opening the winter session with an obituary notice of their 

 late distinguished mycologist. Kegretting that age and its 

 attendant infirmities had prevented him from taking that chair 

 for a long time past, he said that he was extremely anxious 

 to come before them that afternoon in consequence of the great 



