19 



in those which I gathered last year in France (Phytol. i. 789) it was 

 continually varying. Rosa spinosissima is here glandular in the veins 

 and on the margin, forming double serratures ; perhaps R. myriacan- 

 tha of De Candolle. This form seems, however, nearly confined to 

 the neighbourhood of Roxheim. 



On the 29th I went to the salt-works, where long sheds covering a 

 high pile of faggots deform the valley, — and ascended the Roth en fells, 

 one side of which forms a magnificent precipice of reddish porphyry, 

 of I suppose above 600 feet in height. The gentler slope on the 

 north side afforded Potentilla rupestris, and on the upper part abun- 

 dance of Orchis sambucina, but almost out of flower. On the steep 

 descent to the south, there was abundance of Dictamnus Fraxinella, 

 and I sat down to admire its magnificent tufts before I attempted to 

 gather them. I then crossed the Nahe by a ferry; and after gathering 

 SaxifragaAizoon near the river, scrambled up the hollow which sepa- 

 rates the Rhein-grafenstein from the Gans. Here was none of the 

 Biscutella laevigata which I had found the day before so abundantly 

 in a similar hollow ; and it is remarkable, that Dianthus caesius, 

 which is here so abundant, does not grow on the opposite rocks of 

 the Rothenfells, while on the other hand, the Dictamnus is not found 

 on the Gans, or the Rhein-grafenstein, and the Orchis sambucina 

 very sparingly, or not at all. In such rambles, an Englishman misses 

 some plants elsewhere common in his own country, such as the two 

 species of Ulex and Scilla nutans, none of which seem to be found 

 on the Rhine. 



On the 30th I hunted for the Asarum, which, as Mr. Dellman 

 assured me, grows about two miles from Kreuznach, on the foot of 

 some rocks on the banks of the Ellerbach. I found it in fruit, but 

 the dry permanent nature of the blossoms left me little to regret. In 

 the afternoon T went to Bingen ; and on the 31st, had a walk up and 

 round the Reichers Berg, to hunt for Sagina ciliata, which I did not 

 find. My only prize was Potentilla alba, pretty completely out of 

 flower. Podospermum laciniatum, Crepis tectorum, Silene conica, 

 and one or two other plants not rare on the Continent, but which I 

 had not lately seen, occurred near the chapel. The walk, however, 

 is a beautiful one, with finely varied views on the Rhine, and on the 

 Nahe. The views up the Rhine, in particular, are delightful ; and 

 only want the effect of a mixture of larger trees to rival the most per- 

 fect river-scenes in Europe. Afterwards I proceeded to Maintz, 

 where I did little. The immediate neighbourhood is not favourable 

 to Botany — I know not what it may offer at a greater distance. The 



