Ill 



Art. XXXIX. — Varieties. 



76. Note on the Gemis Tilia. There is, I think, a misapprehension on the part of 

 the writer iu No. 5 of ' The Phytologist ' (p. 79), as to my remarks on the Lime. The 

 fact is, about two years ago I sent to the Botanical Society of London, a paper on the 

 British species of the genns Tilia (lime-tree), which perhaps he heard read. Since 

 that time the Society have published no Transactions, and consequently my paper has 

 not appeared, and I am not aware that any abstract of it was ever printed in the ' Ma- 

 gazine of Natural History,' or elsewhere ; except that I also communicated to Mr. 

 Loudon, for his ' Arboretum Britannicum,' the fact of a large wood, of more than five 

 hundred acres in extent, existing in Worcestershire, where, strange to say, the greater 

 part of the undenvood, regularly cut down at stated intervals, consists of Tilia parvifo- 

 lia : thus, I should say, removing any doubt, if any could exist, of the indigenousness 

 of this tree, as far as England is concerned. My paper, however, went to show that 

 T. grandifolia was also indigenous, and that T. europaea was to be included under T. 

 grandifolia as a form. Numerous localities were named, and old individual trees ad- 

 verted to. I also descanted on the natural history of the lime, and contended (at least 

 as far as that tree was concerned) that the honey-dew was really an exudation of its 

 saccharine juices, and had nothing to do with the Aphides. 1 see a very interesting 

 anecdote of Mr. Luxford's is opposed to me as respects another tree (Entomol. No. 90) ; 

 but the fact really is, that as in the old nursery tale of the shield that was gold on 

 one side and silver on the other, so with the honey -dew. In some cases the Aphides 

 cause it, and in others, at a particular temperature, it exudes from the leaves without 

 their agency. The latter is certainly the case with the lime at any rate. — Edivin Lees ; 

 South Cottage, Malvern Wells, October 4, 1841. 



77. Veronica montana, (Phytol. 70). This is always included in lists of rare plants, 

 wherefore I cannot tell, unless that it is passed over for Ver. Chamaedrys, and conse- 

 quently esteemed a treasure when accident brings it prominently before the notice of 

 the botanist. It grows plentifully in all the woods and shady dells and dingles in the 

 neighbourhood of Bristol ; nor is it less frequent about Manchester, where I have seen 

 it in every locality favourable to its taste for moisture and seclusion. Mere Clough, 

 Agecroft Clough, Boghart-hole Clough, Ouse-end Clough, &c., produce it in abun- 

 dance. — L. H. Grindon ; Manchester, October 20, ]841. 



78. Astrantia major. This plant was, in 1840, discovered by Mr. Dl. Sharpe in 

 the wood above Stokesay Castle, Shropshire, " in plenty." Mr. Borrer this summer 

 examined the wood, which is extensive, and found four large patches of it along the 

 little-frequented path at the upper edge of the wood, and one a little off from the path, 

 near one of the four. It had every appearance of being quite wild, and the locality 

 did not favour the idea of an accidental escape from cultivation. Possibly, however, 

 it may have been sown there ; and perhaps some of your correspondents may be able 

 to clear up this doubt, as well as to inform us whether it occurs dispersedly over the 

 wood. — W. A. Leighton ; Shreivsbury, November 1, 1841. 



79. Silene nutans. In answer to your correspondent (Phytol. 91), I beg leave io 

 state that to the best of my knowledge Silene nutans grew on Nottingham Castle-rock 

 previously to the castle being burnt, sparingly, as it does at present ; but since that 

 event in 1830, it has established itself on the walls, in the crevices between the stones 

 and in fact in every place where it is possible for a plant to vegetate. — Joseph Sidebo- 

 thnm. ; Manchester, November 4, 1S41. 



