180 



sitis raajoribus : soris numeiosis distinctis: indusiis piimo seraiovatis 

 V. reniformibus, demura orbiculatis, emargiiiatis : stipite breviusculo, 

 basi sparsim sub-paleaceo, fusco, superne rachique pallidis' Lowe 

 Prim. Faun, et Fl. Mad. &c. 1831, p. 7. — 'Odor giatissimus, foenum 

 novum redolens, constans.' Two varieties are constituted, viz. a. ala- 

 tum, and &. productum : but the latter ' status potius prioris (a.), e 

 loco obscuriore, defectu luminis, &c. quam varietas videtur,' And he 

 adds — ' Species Aspidio dilatato et spinuloso Auct. certe proxima; et 

 cum illis forsan, in unara speciem (ut ab amiciss. J. Hookero) conso- 

 ciatis olim conjungenda. Sed distingui posse, credo, iigura frondis 

 abbreviata, deltoidea ; stipite breviore, minus (sc. basi tantum) palea- 

 ceo ; pinnuHs angustioribus ; odore.' — We do not find that we possess 

 specimens thus named direct from Mr. Lowe : but, besides Dr. Lip- 

 pold's specimens above-mentioned, we have both Mr. Lowe's varieties, 

 a. and (3., from Madeira, so marked by our vahied friend Dr. Lemann ; 

 and there cannot be better authority for Mr. Lowe's plant. These 

 unfortunately tell another tale ; for the a. is a very narrow-pinnuled 

 form of A. spinulosum, having a long stipes with no scales, while the 

 /3. is a very common small form of A. spinulosum, and there is nothing 

 in Mr. Lowe's characters at variance with these specimens. Whether 

 Mr. Lowe had also Dr. Lippold's plant in view, it is impossible for us 

 to say, but we think it is clearly that of Mr. Bree : that plant (Lip- 

 pold's) retains its hay-like fragrance in the herbarium. 



" We find it needful to make one remark more on a plant of this 

 group, described (but without any specific character) under the name 

 of Lastrea uliginosa, by Mr. Newman, in ' The Phytologist' for Oct. 

 1849, p. 678. It has been stated to have been * shown to six eminent 

 botanists, who have paid especial attention to ferns.' Their opinions 

 stand recorded thus : 1. ' A form of Filix-mas.' 2. ' Lastrea rigida.' 

 3. ' Lastrea cristata.' 4. ' Lastrea spinosa Newm. a strong variety.' 

 5. ' Lastrea dilatata, a rigid variety.' 6. ' No way different from Las- 

 trea spinosa Newm. I mean it would hardly pass for a var.' — The 

 plant under the name of L. uliginosa, in cultivation in the Royal Gar- 

 dens, corresponds with our A. spinulosum, a." — P. 570. 



From these and other examples which have been adduced, it will 

 be evident that the editors are but little addicted to the modern sin 

 of hair-splitting, which has certainly been carried rather too far. 

 Whether they may not occasionally be fairly chargeable with a too 

 close adherence to the opposite course of lumping, we must for the 

 present leave our readers to judge, seeing that we have already ex- 

 ceeded our legitimate limits. For ourselves, we may venture the 



