193 



In Nuttall's Catalogue of Plants collected on the Pacific Coast by 

 Wyeth, in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy, Vol. VII, a new 

 lichen is described under the name of Borrera Columbiana, which he 

 remarks resembles Lichen vuljnniis Linn., found on the Columbia 

 Eiver. It is also noticed in Tuckerman's Enumeration, 1845 (under 

 Parmelia), but not since. 



Hooker's Flora Boreali- Americana, London, 1840, though not pub- 

 lished in this country, may be mentioned here, as giving, according 

 to Professor Tuckerman, "besides a general survey of the Lichens 

 of that region, and descriptions of new species, many remarks illus- 

 trative of the economy and the uses of these plants. . . . The part 

 which includes the Lichens is as valuable to the student of these 

 plants in this country as in England." 



We come now to the writings of the distinguished botanist, who 

 has done more than any other in this country to advance the knowl- 

 edge of our Lichens, and from whom we have still much to expect, 

 Professor Edward Tuckerman, of Amherst. In 1835, he read before 

 the Boston Society of Natural History, An Enumeration of some Lichens 

 of North America, published in Vol. II. of its Proceedings. Three fur- 

 ther enumerations were published in Vols. III. and V. of the same 

 work, from 1843 to 1847. In the last, the whole number of known 

 North American Lichens is stated to be 165. These papers derive 

 great interest from the fact that they contain the first special notices 

 of the alpine Lichen Flora of the mountains of Vermont and New 

 Hampshire. In the last he remarks that "127 species and four perma- 

 nent varieties have been enumerated, and their stations given ; of 

 which fifty were not previously included in the United States Plora." 

 He proceeds to give an account of the systematic arrangement of the 

 Lichens up to that period, as developed in the writings of Linn^us, 

 Acharius, Pries, and others, mentioning also the catalogues of Muh- 

 lenburg, Torrey, Halsey, and Hitchcock, above noticed, and concludes 

 with some remarks on the uses of Lichens. Pi'ofessor Tuckerman's 

 remarks on the various plants he notices are full of interest, and 

 marked by that caution and discrimination which characterize the ac- 

 curate observer and the philosophical mind, and which he has so ably 

 manifested in his later and more diflicult and profound studies. 



In Observations on some interesting Plants of New England, published 

 in the American Journal of Science, in 1843, Professor Tuckerman 

 mentions two Lichens, Cetraria Tuckermanii (which, however, has not 

 held its place as a distinct species), and Solorina saccata. This last 

 has not been published as occurring in New England, but the present 

 writer has found it in Pittsfield. 



In 1845, appeared An Enumeration of North American Lichens, by 

 Professor Tuckerman, published at Cambridge. This little work con- 



PROCEEDINGS ESSEX INST. VOL. V. 25 AUGUST, 1SG8. 



