80 REPORT — 1865. 



series of photographs, by Col. C. Hutchinson, R.E., showing the characteristic 

 vegetation of the Deodar and other Himalayan trees, were produced, and the average 

 dimensions given. A forest officer is now employed upon each of the great rivers 

 of the Punjab, for carrying out a systematic plan of conservancy and management 

 of these valuable forests. The quantity of Deodar timber annually brought down 

 the various rivers is now very large, and amounted to 12,000 tons upon the Chenab 

 alone. A new and increasing trade in timber upon the Indus and Kabul rivers, 

 important in its commercial and political bearings, was predicted. 



The importance of conserving our Indian forests was first discussed at the meetings 

 of the British Association in 1850 and 1851, and since then the subject had attracted 

 great attention, both in England and in India. 



ltanunculus radians (Revel) as a British Plant. 

 By W. P. Hiern, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. 



Ranunculus radians is a new name in British Botany. It undoubtedly grows in 

 England ; but it must be discussed how far it differs specificalhj from its allies. I 

 discovered it at Silverdale in North Lancashire on the 16th of June, 1864, .and have 

 gathered it again this year in the same locality. Ranunculus trichophyUus (Chaix) 

 seems to me to be most likely to be confused with this plant. The floating leaves 

 of my plant serve to make a striking difference, inasmuch as Professor Babington 

 states that Ran. trichophyUus has never been found in Britain with floating leaves. 

 Moreover the fruit and other parts of the plant present distinguishing characters. 

 I sowed some seeds of it in my room at college on 15th July last, and I have 

 already (4th September, 1865) got a floating leaf. I have seen a small portion of 

 a plant or plants from Belfast gathered this season, somewhat resembling my plant. 

 The following characters of my plant serve to distinguish it from its allies, special 

 reference being made to Ran. trichojihyllus. 



The fruit has a very convex keel below, and commonly the upper edge is more 

 or less depressed towards the base and convex near the style : towards the depression 

 thus formed, the transverse ridges on the achene mostly converge. 



The receptacle is spherical, or nearly so. 



The floating leaves are radiant, with lobes contiguous and often pedicelled. 



The capillary segments of the submerged leaves are rather flaccid. 



The stamens number from 15 to 18, generally 17. 



The number of veins on the petals is about 7 at the middle, where the yellow 

 colour ceases (and these subdivide at the margin into about 11). 



The petals are contiguous, obovate, widened at the free end, contracted at the claw, 

 and at least twice the length of the sepals. 



The stem attains the length of from 1 to 2} feet. 



Upon sending a good specimen to Professor Boreau of Angers, I received a 

 decisive reply. He says, I have no doubt but that the plant which you have done 

 me the honour to send me belongs to Ran. radians (Revel). The foliage is abso- 

 lutely the same as in the plant that I possess from the same author ! He also states 

 that Ran. trichophyUus never has floating leaves, and that when these appear, the 

 plant belongs to some other species. 



In a paper on " the British Species of Batrachian Ranunculi," read before the 

 Cambridge University Natural Science Society last October, I showed, among 

 other things, that a convenient artificial method of classifying these plants was 

 found to consist in exhibiting geometrically the position of each (sub) species, 

 referred to two axes; the number of stamens which the (sub)species commonly 

 has being measured in inches or other linear unit along one axis, and the number 

 of veins on the petals being measured along the other axis. On fixing the loci of 

 the (sub)species in this manner a remarkable law is observed : five of the most 

 closely allied (sub)species, i. e. Ran. Drouetii, trichophyUus, Baudotii, confu-sus, 

 heterophyllus, lie in one straight line ; and the three next (sub)species, i. e. Ran. 

 peltatus, fluribundus, tripartitus, lie in another straight line which is near the former, 

 and parallel to it. The parallelism can be shown on mathematical principles to 

 express close affinity. 



Now on placing the plant which is the subject of this paper after the same 



