THE EIR&S-FOOT TREFOIL. 71 



cor nix, in allusion again to this resemblance of the pods to 

 a bird's foot ; while the generic title, Lotus, is given to it 

 from a belief that it may possibly be one of these species 

 on which the ancient Greeks bestowed that name. 



The bird's-foot trefoil is subject to considerable varia- 

 tions of form, these modifications of the type being either 

 considered as mere varieties, more or less permanent, or 

 elevated to the rank of distinct species, according to the 

 amount of variation and the frame of mind of the observer. 

 Botanists have been colloquially divided into two great 

 classes the " splitters " and the " massers " ; the first of 

 these make the most of every little divergence from the 

 type, and split up each species into several sub-species, 

 while the latter ignore all these minor points as being, if 

 not altogether immaterial, at least insufficient to found any- 

 thing like permanent and specific distinctions upon. Four 

 very distinct forms of birdVfoot trefoil may, however, be 

 noticed, though, as many intermediate forms may also be 

 met with, they can perhaps scarcely be considered more 

 than modifications, owing to various external circumstances, 

 of the original and typical form. The greater lotus, which 

 has, perhaps, the best title to an independent specific rank, 

 and as such is by some botanists called the Lotus major, has 

 all its parts larger than in the more strictly typical plant ; 

 but as it is found more especially in moist meadow-land 

 and by the sides of ditches, it is quite open to question 

 whether this dampness of situation may not go very far in 

 creating the richer development. The hairy lotus and the 

 narrow-leaved lotus are two other forms. The first, the 

 Lotus villosus of the "splitters," is very similar to the 

 common plant, except that the calyx, stems, and leaves are 

 covered with long and spreading hairs ; it is a species or 



