280 VI. EXPLANATIONS OF THE 



botanists, in the other way by other botanists ; like the Ranun- 

 culus confusus or Rubus discolor, separated from the two Linnean 

 species above named. In many instances, one or more segregates are 

 taken from an old species, the remnant being still accounted a species, 

 and retaining its old name. The term ' dimidiate ' would have been 

 used to express a species so halved or curtailed ; and thus Veronica 

 agrestis would be deemed a dimidiate species, after separation from it of 

 the segregate V. polita ; it being held an aggregate species where 

 understood to consist of both the modern species under the old name. 

 The fourth term ' integrate' is left applicable to species which botanists 

 allow to remain as first established, without severance of sub-species 

 from them ; examples being afforded by Adoxamoschatellina and Atropa 

 Belladonna ; — though it is somewhat unsafe now to assert of any species, 

 that nobody has attempted to split off segregates from it. 



In concludiug these explanations of the ' Census of Species,' the 

 author may remark that it has required a sacrifice of time and patience, 

 to bring it up to its present and yet imperfect condition, which he could 

 scarcely fore-reckon when commencing to form it. Tens of thousands 

 of records and manuscript notes required to be consulted and collated ; 

 and while going through that labour, the elimination of the errors and 

 probable errors, from the reliable facts, was a great additional source of 

 trouble and inconvenience. It seems to be impossible for him to have 

 avoided errors and oversights himself, in the course of this examination ; 

 and he may doubtless in some instances have rejected the true, and 

 admitted the false. Still, whether viewed as 38 groups, or as a series of 

 1425 individual species, the census list may be considered a fair ap- 

 proximation to correctness, although the actual position of many names 

 in it might be somewhat changed on complete knowledge, — placed 

 higher or lower in the series, — in a higher or lower group, as the case 

 might be. 



In regard to the three summaries placed at the end of the list On 

 looking to the first of these, which reckons the number of species in 

 accordance with the provincial census, there appears an accumulation 

 at each end of the series ; as if there were some decided tendency of the 

 species to be very local or very general. This apparent tendency is 

 partly fallacious. It is geographically possible that one species, having 

 only 18 localities, might still occur in as many different provinces ; 

 while another species, with 1800 or 18000 localities, would equally 

 be found iu 18 provinces only. And at the other end of the series, one 



