xlvii. 



The reading and discussion of the papers for the day was then entered 

 upon. 



The first paper, " Dorset Rubi," by the President, in the absence of the 

 author, was read by the Secretary. He explained that the first part was 

 devoted to the literature, general description, and history of the subject ; 

 the latter an enumeration of the various species hitherto found in Dorset, 

 their specific characters, and the localities where they were discovered. 

 Little attention had been paid in early days to the study of British fruc- 

 ticose Brambles. Ray's Synopsis (1724) included three species ; Smith's 

 Flora Britannica (1780) included four species ; Lindley's Synopsis included 

 18 species. The eighth edition of the London Catalogue of British Plants 

 (1886) includes 59 species, 25 sub-species. The author in his " Dorset 

 Rubi" identified 30 species within the borders of the county. 



The Rev. R. P. Murray, Rector of Shapwick, said that nowhere was the 

 difficulty of establishing specific distinctions more forcibly evidenced than 

 in the genus Rubus. He had studied the subject for some three years, and 

 stated that in Britain we had something like 70 forms, but in Germany 

 they made the number three or four times as many, and in France over 

 70 forms had been subdivided by French Rubists into 300 or 400. He 

 protested against the recommendation of Professor Babbington that they 

 should name every form they found. He thought they should take the 

 leading forms and try and group the intermediate ones around them. He 

 said that Mr. Mansel Pleydell and himself proposed to bring out a joint 

 Flora of the Counties of Somerset and Dorset, which, if successfully 

 carried out, should be a work of more than ordinary interest, since there 

 was no natural boundary between the counties, and no unsurmountable 

 barrier to the migrations of plants from the English to the Bristol 

 Channel. 



Mr. Moule said there was an expert on Rubi, a native of Dorchester, 

 Mr. F. Galpin, who had studied the genus for some years and should be 

 able to throw light on the difficult subject. 



Mr. J. S. Udal then read a paper on " Dorset XVII. Centui-y Tokens," 

 tracing the causes which led to the introduction of tokens for purposes of 

 exchange. Amongst the Counties in England Somerset contained the 

 largest number of towns, 13 or 14, which coined them, whilst Dorset, with 8, 

 stood next. These boroughs were Blandford, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, 

 Poole, Shaftesbury , Sherborne, Wey mouth, and Wimborne. The Dorsetshire 

 tokens were farthings principally ; halfpennies were very few, and there 

 were no pennies. The earliest date on any Dorset token was 1650, that of 

 Richard Oliver, of Poole, the latest 1670. The great majority of tokens 

 belonged to a period subsequent to the restoration of Charles II. On the 





