36 REPORT — 1800. 



Specific Botanist as thus : under the head of " Meadow Fescue, Festuca 

 elatior," see Bentham's ' Handbook of the British Flora,' p. 602, we have the 

 following : — 



"a. Spiked Meadow Fescue (F. loliacea, Eng. Bot. t. 1821). Spikelets 

 almost sessile, in a simple spike. Grows with the common form, always 

 passing gradually into it. 



"b. Common Meadow Fescue (F. pratensis, Eng. Bot. t. 1592). Panicle 

 slightly branched but close. In meadows and pastures. 



"c. Tall Meadow Fescue (F.elatior, Eng. Bot. t. 1593 ; F. arundinacea, 

 Bab. Man.). A taller, often reed-like plant, with broader leaves, the panicle 

 more branched and spreading. On banks of rivers, and in wet places, espe- 

 cially near the sea." 



Now, though well aware that these views are not generally shared by col- 

 lecting botanists, we are yearly more and more persuaded that even greater 

 innovations than now contended for v. ill be admitted ; and we cannot help 

 expressing pride and pleasure that we should for the last fourteen years 

 have been conducting a series of experiments, many of which practically 

 prove the truth of several of the theoretical views, with regard to what has 

 been termed the "lumping" of species, of the author of the Handbook; 

 and we cannot here omit expressing our best thanks to the British Association 

 for their assistance in prosecuting these interesting inquiries. 



Poa (Gli/ceria) aquatica. — Our plot with this experiment still continues 

 to exhibit in its entire space, without the slightest intermixture, the induced 

 form we have before reported upon, which indeed is so different from the 

 original grass, that at a first glance most observers would pronounce it to be 

 large examples of Poa trivialis; the differences, however, in all parts are as 

 great between our induced form and that grass, as exists on comparing the 

 induced form with the Poa aquatica. There can be no doubt that in 

 this case the cultivation of the seed of a water grass in an upland situation 

 has led to great changes, not, as has been supposed, brought about by cross- 

 breeding or hybridizing, but the seed of the P. aquatica has at once been 

 changed in the growth of the plants that came up from it ; and it now remains 

 to see if the change be a permanent one, to which end we hope to be able 

 to sow a plot of the seed of the induced grass next spring; but in the mean- 

 time it may be well to remark, that although it has frequently seeded, yet 

 that the bed is still free both from innovations from seedlings of its own kind, 

 as also from those of other species. 



Poa (Gli/ceria) Jluitans. — At the same time that the plot was sown with 

 the seed of P. aquatica, another plot was occupied with seeds of the Poa 

 Jluitans; and we should remark that in both cases the seeds were drilled, and 

 the drills remain intact to the present hour. Now the result is, that both 

 plots were indistinguishable at the first time of flowering, and have so re- 

 mained to the present hour ; and with reference to the last form, it may be 

 well to point out that, having been favoured by Messrs. Sutton of Reading 

 with specimens of the collection of grasses which they keep in cultivation, a 

 bundle marked " Gli/ceria Jluitans" is identical with our induced forms from 

 both P. aquatica and P. jluitans. 



Poa aquatica and P. Jluitans. — We offer no explanation of these ; being 

 well acquainted with these two species, we can truly say that our induced form 

 is widely different ; nor is it at all identical with any other British species. It 

 is, however, still a matter of regret that we have not been able to procure 

 ripe seed of these species from the district, as, so far as we can discover, none 

 of the P. aquatica at least has ripened in the district. It may be well to 

 mention, that even this shyness in the ripening of the seed of this now so 



