1038 



He returned however almost immediately, with the unwelcome news 

 that the rope only reached a few feet over the brink of the precipice ; 

 it should have been at least ten yards longer. This was mortifying : 

 but ne cede malls, thought I ; so after a short consultation, we agreed 

 to attempt a footing lower and nearer the precipice, and presently fix- 

 ed on a small ledge of rock at the brink, where it was possible, by a 

 little clearing from debris to place our feet. From this point we low- 

 ered our friend John, who soon reappeared with some specimens of 

 of the precious plant in his mouth, and a few others in his hat. 



The mist had now cleared away from the mountains, and we went 

 to Glyder Vawr to search for Woodsia Ilvensis ; in this we were un- 

 successful, although possessing plans of the district, with which my 

 friend Mr. Roberts of Bangor had favoured me, embracing even the 

 actual rock upon which he and Mr. Borrer had gathered it in plenty. 

 Nothing else occurred particularly worthy of note, but I may observe 

 that there was plenty of Juniperus nanus coming into flower, and a lit- 

 tle Splachnum mnioides about Llyn y cwn. Joseph Sidebotham. 



Manchester July 10, 1844. 



Art. CCXXIX. — Further Remarks on Carices. By S. Gibson, Esq. 



The object of this note is to prove that my Carex pseudo-paradoxa 

 does not really belong to C. teretiuscula, as has been advocated by 

 Dr. Wood and other botanists. 



Controversy is of great value in Botany as well as in the other sci- 

 ences, as it has always a tendency to lead to further researches, and 

 the facts which result from them often tend to the development of 

 truth. Had my former remarks upon these plants been generally ad- 

 mitted, I should probably have remained satisfied; but the objections 

 and doubts that have been raised against it, have led me to a very de- 

 tailed investigation of the plants in question ; and the result is that 

 my former opinion on the subject is still unshaken. 



But here I may observe in regard to the term, that it is a matter of 

 no moment with me whether they be called species or varieties, since 

 I know that it is not in the power of man to tell what a species is. 



All that I shall here attempt to prove is that such characters as I 

 have pointed out do really exist in the plants. 



And before I make any attempt to do this, I will just say that my 

 remarks will (unless otherwise expressed) be limited to those speci- 



