178 



the Chiswick Garden, I cannot, of course, unravel its history, nor 

 was I called upon to do it. There was no difficulty apparent in my 

 path ; but, surely. Dr. Bell Salter — seeing the discrepancy between 

 himself and me as to the glandulosity of R. diversifolius, and seeing 

 too, what Leigh ton has said on the subject, as I have quoted above, 

 where Dr. Lindley himself is made to concur with dumetorum and 

 diversifolius presenting no marks of difference from each other — 

 really, I think when Dr. B. Salter saw the aspect of the specimen, 

 " as from the authentic bush," &c., before he founded any argument 

 upon it as against me, he was bound to clear up the mystery there is 

 in the affair. For the fact is apparent, that either Dr. Lindley has 

 mistaken his own plant, which I can scarcely conceive, its original 

 character has been altered by cultivation, or Mr. Borrer's specimen is 

 not " from the authentic bush." This latter may be, indeed, for aught 

 I know to the contrary, R. vestitus, ( W. 8^ N.) and yet not the true 

 R. diversifolius, [Lind.) On this point I shall not dilate, because I 

 have not seen the specimens Dr. Salter terms R. vestitus, and which 

 clearly are not the same I have had in view as R. diversifolius, 

 {Lind.) * But, after all, just to show how little a single specimen 

 ought to be trusted, even from an " authentic bush," and how vary- 

 ing and perplexing the glandulose brambles especially are, T may 

 mention that the year before last I received a packet of Rubi to exa- 

 mine, which had been gathered in Leicestershire by the Rev. A. 

 Bloxam. A set of specimens, all collected at the same time and 

 place, and from the same bush, in admirable order, were ticketed 

 R. Koehleri ? var. On comparison, the panicles approached very 

 closely in character to — if not absolutely identical with — R. Leightoni 

 of Flor. Shrops. ; but out of four, two were copiously glandular : in 

 one the pubescence had overpowered the glands, and in the other no 

 glands were discernible, even with a powei-ful lens ! Dr. Salter, I 

 ought to say, observes absolutely of the specimen of Mr. Borrer he 

 states to be R. vestitus, {W. 8f N.) " which he had from Dr. Lind- 

 ley's own plant in the Horticultural Gardens ;" but Mr. Borrer him- 

 self, in Leighton, only says that he received it "«« from the au- 



* Is there any botanist resident in London, sufficiently interested about the point in 

 dispute, or who will act as umpire, just to see if any specimens " from the authentic 

 bush '' of R. diversifolius are in the Linnean or Botanical Society's collections, and 

 report thereon ; or if not, why not make a dash at " the authentic bush " itself 

 in the Chiswick Garden ? The thoughtful bystander may, perhaps, be tempted to 

 answer with Gammon, in ' Ten Thousand a Year,'—" He'd let me scratch my hands 

 in getting the blackberries, and then he'd come smiling in to eat 'em.'' 



