284 



soil having an excess of sand, which I have had time to examine care- 

 fully : most abundantly in a field nearest and north of Besecar Grange 

 farm ; but in a similar soil on Wilby, Besecar, and the Glebe farms, 

 it associates with Veronica triphyllos, which is frequent and plentiful 

 on the sandy loam of this parish : not so abundant, however, as the 

 elegant Agrostis Spica-venti, which is indeed universal. 



I do not understand the observation in Mr. Babington's excellent 

 ' Manual,' " Shorter filaments with two setaceous appendages at the 

 base." These processes are attached to the base of the flower, and 

 remain so, after the stamens have been removed. They have the ap- 

 pearance of abortive filaments, and might perhaps distinguish the 

 yellow-flowered species of Alyssum from the white. These appen- 

 dages are represented, imperfectly, in the figure in ' Supplement to 

 English Botany,' t. 2853. 



The following is a list of the localities of Alyssum calycinum which 

 T have noticed in your pages, and in the communications of firiends. 



Scotland. Arbroath, Dirlton Links, near Edinburgh. 



England. Yorkshire : Heslington Fields : Poppleton and A comb, 

 near York, (Phytol. vol. i. 843) : Castle Howard : Cantley. 

 Leicestei'shire, Babington's 'Manual.' Essex, Saffron Walden : 

 Mr. Gibson, in Phytol. Epping, (Phytol. vol. ii. 220., &c.) 



Desiring the attention of your readers to these general notes, I re- 

 main, &c., G. E. Smith. 



Cantley, July 24, 1845. 



Notes on the Cowslip and Primrose. By W, Marshall, Esq. 



Will you allow one who takes a great interest in everything relat- 

 ing to Phytology, to contribute a fact which bears somewhat on the 

 specific identity of the cowslip and primrose ? Some few years ago, 

 when all, and more than all my leisure time was devoted to botanical 

 pursuits, having heard of the results of Professor Henslow's experi- 

 ments on this subject, and being desirous of testing their accuracy, by 

 an independent observation, I procured a wild cowslip from an ad- 

 joining pasture, very early in the season, and planted it in my garden 

 in rich soil, in which, at the time, I had neither polyanthus, primrose, 

 nor oxlip. 



The plant grew vigorously, and at the proper season I collected the 

 seeds and sowed them broad-cast on a small plot of ground. When 

 they had attained a convenient size, 1 planted out about sixty of the 



