84 



" In woods and on mountains in the south of Ireland." Differing 

 from J. trilobata [Linn.), in its smaller size, its rufous tinge, its erect 

 stems, and its acute, convex and minutely bidentate leaves, which are 

 less imbricate and point forwards ; the calyces too are acuminate and 

 split into four segments ; the peduncle to the capsule is shorter ; the 

 stipules more entire ; the perigonia nearly spherical, and the perigo- 

 nial leaves divided half way down. 



The following remarks on the Jungermannige are valuable. " Na- 

 ture has distributed her characters to certain genera so that they 

 contain but a few species ; to others so, that they embrace a vast mul- 

 titude. Such last appears to be the case with the Jungermanniae, 

 whose numbers, however inconvenient, are to be parcelled out into 

 new groups with the extremest caution. We only deceive ourselves 

 by an imaginary convenience, if we are satisfied with weak or incon- 

 stant characters in forming new genera. When Nature has linked 

 the species, it is perhaps worse than useless to attempt to separate 

 them. Jungermannia exigua has strong claims to be considered allied 

 to J. excisa [Dicks.), on the one hand, and to J, tridenticulata on the 

 other, which last it is still held to be by acute botanists. Again, J. 

 tridenticulata is still retained as a variety only of J. spinulosa [Dicks.) 

 by Lindenberg, in his great work on the Hepaticas, now publishing. 

 But how unlike are the extremes of this series of four species ! and 

 what advantage can be expected from the separation of these extremes 

 into different genera ? It is not because a genus is large, that there- 

 fore it should be partitioned. Although the frondose Jungermanniae 

 seem to have constant characters, by which they may be separated 

 from the foliaceous; and, again, a small tribe of these having an irre- 

 gular dehiscence of the capsule, may be grouped aside, yet for the 

 main body no constant and exact characters of subdivision, though 

 long looked for, have as yet been discovered." — p. 180. 



For Mr. Gardiner's ' Account of two Botanical Visits to the Reeky 

 Linn and the Den of Airly,' see Phytol. i. 898. 



A notice of Mr. Edmonston's 'Remarks on the Botany of Shetland,' 

 is given in Phytol. i. 185; and at pp. 189, 191, 239, 266, 493, 526, 

 and 651, will be found full reports of all the remaining shorter papers 

 contained in this part of the Transactions, the contents of which are 

 equal, in value and interest, to those of either of its predecessors. 



