BOTANICAL NEWS. 63 
— one out of every fifteen or twenty ant-hills explored produced this growth ; 
but it is not found in the Carnatie. This may be accounted for by the greater 
dryness of the climate in these parts, 'and the absence of that moisture and 
heat so necessary for fungoid growths. The natives state that it is occasionally 
met with in dark crevices, and in the recesses of rocks and caves ; but my ex- 
perience does not confirm the latter fact as yet. 5. On the Varieties of Varie- 
gated Greens, etc., as Ornamental Plants. By Mr. M'Nab. 6. Notice of the 
state of Open- Air Vegetation in the Royal Botanic Garden. By Mr. M'Nab. 
Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. — Oct. 8, 1866. 
Mr. Hurst read a paper "On the Plants springing up spontaneously on the 
fresh turning-up of pasture land at Knutsford, Cheshire." He said that grass 
seeds were sown over a portion, but that this merely accelerated what appeared 
to be the certain effect of time in this district, viz. the almost total extinction 
of other plants by the grasses. His observations only extended through July 
and August, during which time he observed 58 species, of which the Graminece 
form 17 per cent. ; Polygonacea, 13 per cent. ; Composites, 11 per cent. ; Le~ 
guminosm, 9 per cent. ; one-half of the species being comprised in four families. 
The author drew attention to the total absence of Untbellifene. Also Poly- 
gonum Convolvulus was the plant which at one time covered more ground than 
any other species, appearing to smother most of the plants around it. Yet in 
untouched adjacent fields not an individual could be found. Classed by De 
Candolle among the plants cultivated by man against his will in western 
Europe, and only indigenous in Siberia, it certainly seemed curious that a 
Siberian plant should be the first to cover the soil of Cheshire on its being 
exposed to the air. Mr. Hurst remarked that Polygonum aviculare came next 
in the extent of ground covered, and on flat unshaded places appeared to hold 
its own against P. Convolvulus better than any other plant ; nor does it appear 
to be eventually smothered by the grasses among which it may frequently be 
found growing. Papaver dubium came next as to conspicuousness, though 
perhaps not covering so great an area as other species humbler in appearance. 
In the adjacent town of Bowdon, under similar circumstances, it sprang up 
abundantly the' first year, sparingly the second, and almost disappeared the 
third, — the slightest cakeing or hardening of the surface soil being fatal to its 
existence. Plantago major, or " the footsteps of the white man," as it ia 
called by the North American Indians, also appeared, but in small numbers. 
Dec. 11, 1866.— "Notes on Varieties of Sarothamnus scoparius, Koch, and 
Stachys Betonica, Benth., from the Lizard, Cornwall." By Charles Bailey, 
Esq. I. Sarothamnus scoparius, Koch, var.— Mr. H. C. Watson admitted 
this species as a Cornish plant in the third volume of his ■ Cybele Britannica.' 
The variety found differs from the normal form, here named var. a, in the 
following characters :— -Var. a. erecta.— Stems erect, bushy ; leaves stalked, 
the petioles as long as, or longer than, the leaflets ; leaflets elliptical-obovate, 
bluntish. Var. 0. prostrata — Stems prostrate, spreading; leaves shortly 
stalked or sessile ; leaflets ovate-acute, acuminate. The Cornish form, 0. pro- 
strata, differs from the normal plant chiefly in its habit of growth, which, instead 
of being erect and bushy, is remarkably prostrate, the branches spreading out 
m fa n-8haped patches, and growing flat upon the ground ; the branches, par- 
