1070 



will be noticed, where several specimens of the same species, which 

 have been collected at different dates, have been operated on, the 

 results vary considerably. 



" In the 4th column is given the colour, or character, of the alcoho- 

 lic decoction of the lichen, which is usually previously comminuted, 

 or pulverized, in order the more fully to expose it to the action of 

 solvents and re-agents. 



" The 5th column exhibits the colorific effects, on the alcoholic 

 decoction of the plant {i. e., the solution of its colorific principles), of 

 a weak solution of bleaching liquid, sufficiently strong, however, to 

 be pungent. This is merely a solution of the common bleaching 

 lime, or chloride of lime, and may be considered essentially a solu- 

 tion of hypochlorite of lime, which is its active constituent. 



" In the 6th column is shown the effect of weak aqua ammonia on 

 the alcoholic decoction ; a sufficiency being usually added to render 

 distinctly ammoniacal the mixture, which is then allowed to stand for 

 one or two days. 



" The 8th column exhibits the colours obtained by macerating 

 lichens in a weak ammoniacal solution (of sufficient strength, how- 

 ever, to be distinctly pungent), for periods varying from one month to 

 two years. 



" In the 7th colimtm are comprehended a few miscellaneous remarks, 

 chiefly, Jirst, on the use of various native lichens in dyeing, by the 

 peasantry of Britain and other countries ; and, secondly, on the use 

 of various exotic and native species in the manufacture of orchil, cud- 

 bear, and litmus." 



Ci'ifptogamic Plants oftlie Neiglibourhood of Si. Andrews. 



A paper by Mr. Alexander O. Black, ' On the Cryptogamic Plants 

 of the Neighbourhood of St. Andrews,' was read. 



The author stated that a residence in St. Andrews, during the last 

 eighteen months, had given him an opportunity of investigating the 

 vegetation of a part of our island, hitherto but little explored by bota- 

 nists. Having devoted much attention to the Cryptogamic orders in 

 general, but more particularly to the ferns and mosses, he thought 

 that the result of his researches might, perhaps, be useful in illus- 

 trating the local distribution of these plants. 



But few of the hills rise to the elevation of even 500 feet, and these 

 are not unfrequently entirely cultivated : for this reason we find Fife 

 much less prolific in alpine plants, than several counties situated fur- 

 ther South ; while its northern position effectually excludes all, or 



