925 



3id. — Is not the plant comprised under 3 and 4 the only British 

 representative of C. Jacea of Linnaeus ? Does any other British plant 

 exist as C. Jacea in our herbaria ? 



4th. — Is the plant comprised under 3 and 4 the C. nigrescens of 

 Willdenovv ? 



5tb. — Is it a species, or a variety of C. nigra ? 



I am little inclined to multiply species, but I think the outer row 

 of florets in one plant being invariably simple and fertile, and in an- 

 other invariably barren and radiated, is a character so obvious as to 

 induce one to suppose the two specifically distinct : there is no simi- 

 larity in facial appearance as they grow side by side in the meadow^s 

 and hedges around Leominster. 



I shall feel greatly obliged to any botanist who will answer the 

 proposed questions, or throw any light on so interesting a subject. I 

 have read with great care the characters italicized by Mr. Babington 

 as important, viz., pappus ; pappus almost tvanting ; pappus very 

 short tufted : also the descriptions of the involucral appendages. 

 The result of a perusal of these characters is the conviction that Mr. 

 Babington might find examples of each in flowers growing on the 

 same stem. The difference between the pappus being wanting, al- 

 most uanting, and very short strikes me as peculiarly unsatisfactory. 

 The time has arrived for discarding imaginary species, and the duty 

 of doing this is as imperative as the admission of new ones when such 

 are really discovered. The talents described under the respective 

 names of " hair-splitting" and "lumping" are unquestionably yield- 

 ing their power to the mightier power of Truth. 



Edward Newman. 



Pollen of the Fir. 



"On the afternoon of Friday, the 25th ult., the wooded part of 

 Morayshire exhibited a very strange appearance. A smart breeze 

 suddenly got up from the north-east, and all the fir plantations in its 

 course appeared as if enveloped in smoke, large wreaths of which 

 were seen to issue from them. For a time the woods pi*esented a 

 threatening aspect, and many persons concluded that they had be- 

 come ignited from the excessive heat. As the wind increased, what 

 appeared as smoke rose high in the air in columns, the larger ones 

 like lengthened, inverted cones, each bearing striking resemblance to 

 Vol. II. 5 z 



