975 



and lias well distinguished them; the accui'ate figure in 'English Bo- 

 tany' of Primula elatior, was communicated by the Rev. Mr. Hemsted, 

 from whence does not appear. Mr. Hewett C. Watson (Phytol. 232) 

 is decidedly right in saying that the Bardfield plant is the sjoecies in- 

 tended to be figured in 'English Botany' (513), and is identical with 

 Swiss and German specimens ; I have a plant growing, and now in 

 full flower, which was received from Belgium, exactly corresponding. 

 It is probable that Ray did not distinguish the two plants, and that 

 his " in sylvis & ad sepes non admodum infrequens " belongs to P. 

 vulgaris, 0., and " interdum & in pascua descendit " to P. elatior. 

 His synonyme " Paralysis altera odorata flore pallido polyanthos," — 

 " The Primrose Cowslip," Parkinson's Paradise, 244, I think belongs 

 to P. elatior. I suppose both are called Oxlips in most counties : in 

 Essex I know they are indiscriminately cowslips, the Primula veris 

 being invariably pagils. — Edward Forster; Woodford, April 23, 1844. 



480. Note on the Bardfield Oxlip. Thinking it might interest you 

 to see a few of the oxlips which I have raised from seed collected at 

 Bardfield in 1842, I send some in a box. I am quite convinced it is 

 a really distinct species, as out of at least five hundred that have flow- 

 ered, there is no variation from the old plants, nothing like a primrose 

 or cowslip amongst them. They all droop. — Henry Douhleday ; Ep- 

 ping, April 25, 1844. 



[True indeed to their parental type are the beautiful descendants of the Bardfield 

 oxlip which we have just received from our kind correspondent Mr. H. Doubleday. 

 We have long felt convinced that the Bardfield plants belong to a perfectly distinct 

 species — the Primula elatior of Jacquin ; and now, had a doubt remained, it must 

 have been dispelled by the specimens j ust received, for which we tender our best thanks 

 to Mr. Doubleday. It is not a little strange that this plant should be confined, as it 

 apparently is, to a few localities in Essex. — EdJ] 



481. Note on Cerastium semidecandrum and tetrandrum. En- 

 closed are some specimens of Cerastium semidecandrum and tetran- 

 drum. They grow together plentifully on the drier parts of our denes, 

 and equally abundantly. The tetrandrous plants may be readily dis- 

 tinguished at a passing glance among the patches in which they grow, 

 by a more robust appearance and larger flowers ; but as to the speci- 

 fic characters given in ' British Flora,' 3rd edition, I have not access 

 to a later), I think you will find in C. semidecandrum the calyx more 

 taper-pointed, the petals not more deeply cloven, but the calyx margins 

 perhaps more membranaceous than in the tetrandrous plant. — J. P. 

 Priest; Great Yarmouth, April 11, 1844. 



482. On the Ascent and Circulation of the Sap in Plants. At a 

 recent meeting of the Royal Society were read, " Some further Obser- 



