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Further Remarks on the Subject of Viola flavicornis. 

 By Edward Forster, Esq., V.P.L.S. 



I do not wish to trouble you or your readers with the difference 

 of opinion still existing between Mr. Hewett C. Watson and myself 

 in regard to Viola flavicornis (vide Phytol. iii. 1020), nor should I do 

 so, had he not called on me to show, if I can, that his Surrey violet, 

 No. 3, differs from Viola flavicornis " to any describable degree." I 

 answer, I think I can. 



First, because in two specimens of the Surrey violet, No. 3, from 

 St. George's Hill, which Mr. Watson favoured me with, the leaves are 

 ovate lanceolate, not heart-shaped, though it is true that on one of 

 them a leaf or two show a very slight tendency at the base to become 

 so : on the other specimen not one can I discover. 



Secondly, because in the specimen of the dwarf violet, No. 4, every 

 lea*f is decidedly heart-shaped, obtuse, as described by Smith and fi- 

 gured by Sowerby. If I recollect rightly, they are all so in the au- 

 thentic specimen in the Smithian herbarium. Whether these are 

 describable differences I leave to the public to determine. Mr. Wat- 

 son may say they are not, as he has not alluded to the shape of the 

 leaves, nor does the word heart-shaped once appear in his remarks. 

 This investigation leads me to think that the Surrey violet, No. 3, is 

 the typical form of Viola lactea, and not a variety as I had conceived. 



I have endeavoured to express myself plainly, hoping to be under- 

 stood ; if I am not, I cannot help it, and Mr. Watson must go on 

 persuading those to whom he has distributed the Surrey violet that 

 he has not misled them by naming it V. flavicornis. If any one 

 should deign to ask my opinion, I shall not be able to help answering: 

 I still think that he has. 



Edward Forster. 



Woodford, 10th January, 1848. 



Fact illustrating Mr. Rainefs Observation that Crude Sap ascends 

 through portions of a Plant which have lost their Vitality. 

 By Isaiah W. N. Keys, Esq. 



Upon reading in a late number of the 'Phytologist' (Phytol. ii. 1027) 

 that portion of the extracts from Mr. Rainey's work on the Ascent of 

 the Sap, &c, which describes his experiments to prove the passage of 



