398 



in the valleys below up to 1200 or 1400 feet. P. vulgaris I never saw in that part of 

 Switzerland. — Win. Bennett; 21, King William Street, Sept. 20, 1842. 



223. Economical Use of the Dock. As a counterpart to Mr. I^ees's statement of 

 the domestic use of the fern in the forest of Dean (Pliytol. 2fi3), I beg leave to add the 

 following similar use of the neglected dock in this neighbourhood. In summers when 

 food for pigs is scarce or difficult to be procured, the dernier resort of the housewife is 

 the dock, which is then gathered and boiled in the manner described in the before- 

 mentioned statement ; sometimes mixed with a few potatoes or a little barley-meal, it 

 forms a very nice mess to help through the time of scarcity. Another use of them to 

 the farmer's wife is as wrappers for her butter in bringing it to market, the greater 

 portion heing wrapped up in dock-leaves after they are washed clean ; it is only after 

 these have failed, on the approach of winter, that they begin to use the cloth wrappers. 

 — James Bladon ; Pont-y-pool, September 14, 1842. 



224. Enquiry respecting Bryum pyriforme. Perhaps some of your readers would 

 be able to say if the plant described in ' English Flora ' under the name of Bryum py- 

 riforme be the same as the one figured in ' Muscologia Britannica ' under the same 

 name. A short time ago as I was examining a few specimens of what I thought to be 

 Bryum pyriforme, I was greatly surprised to find them so much at variance with the 

 description of that plant by Sir W. Hooker, in ' English Flora,' vol. v. p. 60, whei'ein 

 he says — " This differs from all other Brya in the remarkable shape of its leaves, which 

 are almost wholly composed of nerve, except at the base, and there deeply serrated.'' — 

 The point in which my plants differ from the description given by Sir W". Hooker, con- 

 sists in the leaves being quite smooth on their edges. On turning to the ' Muscologia 

 Britannica,' I find the figure in that work to represent leaves which are smooth at the 

 base and somewhat serrated at the point. It will be evident, on examination, that the 

 description above quoted and the figure in ' Muse. Brit.' do present characters sufii- 

 ciently distinct to justify the adoption of two species. — Samuel Gibson ; Hebden 

 Bridge, October 15, 1842. 



225. Note on Equisetum variegatum, var. Mackaii. 1 have received the following 

 communication from Dr. Scouler, correcting some mistakes into which he supposes I 

 have fallen respecting the history of the Equiseta. He states that the var. Mackaii, or 

 " E. elongatum of Hooker, was recognised as a distinct species by Mr. Whitla of Bel- 

 fast, but that this gentleman's views were not adopted by any Irish botanist until the 

 beginning of the present year. The plant was first found by Mr. Whitla in Colin 

 Glen, near Belfast ; afterwards, in 1833, he found it in the Deer-park, near Glenarne. 

 The remarkable variety of E. variegatum growing on the margin of the canal near 

 Dublin, was found by Mr. Johnson, a very acute botanist." — Edward Newman ; 2, 

 Hanover St., Peckham, October 20, 1842. 



226. County Lists of British Ferns. 1 most earnestly solicit from those botanists 

 who may read this notice, assistance in forming a correct and complete county list of 

 all the British species of ferns and allied genera. The plan I wish adopted is to give 

 the name of every species that may occur, however common, because I regard it as 

 quite possible that even such species as Asplenium Ruta-muraria, Pteris aquilina and 

 Lastraea Filix-mas, may not occur in every county, and their non-occurrence w^ould 

 thus become known and a curious fact established. All observations and localities 

 which the writers may consider of value are also solicited, especially with regard to the 

 rarer species. It is my intention to use these lists as data for a general work ; each, if 

 permission be given by the writer, will be handed over to ' The Phytologist/ for inser- 



