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XIX. Obfervaiiom on the Br'tiiJ}) Species cf Mentha. By James 

 Edward Smith, M.D. F.R.S. P.L.S. 



Read Match 5, 1799. 



'^O British genus of plants, except perhaps Confwva, has been 

 J.^^ hitherto lefs underftood than that of Mentha; either with 

 re.pea: to its fpecies, and the principles upon which their dirtinc- 

 tions ought to be founded, or the fjnonyms of thofe fpecies in the 

 mofl: recent, as well as the more ancient writers. Dilienius in his 

 edition of Ray has truly obferved, that England is peculiarly fer- 

 tile in mints ; but he confefles, notwithllanding all he had in that 

 edition added to thofe of Ray, there ftill remained fome defcribed 

 by Merrett, and others obferved by Buddie and Rand, which he 

 found himfelf obliged to leave for future enquiry. 



Ift entering upon this difficult difquifition, it naturally divides 

 itfelf, if I may be allowed a fcholaftic formality, into two parts : 

 firft, it will be found neceiTary to confider how preceding authors 

 have treated it ; and fecondly, to enquire how it may be made more 

 intelligible in future. 



I. In treating of the genus of Bromtis in our fourth volume, t 

 found it not requifite to go farther back than the works of Ray. 

 In the prelcnt inftance Merrett's Plnax^ and indeed a ftill more an- 

 cient work, the Phytologia Britannica of Dr. How, publiflied m 1650, 

 a work which efcaped my recolle6lion in writing the paper on 

 Bromus, both require to be noticetl. 



Z a Thefe 



