394 X. GENERAL REMARKS. 



But while most of such Floras continue to be the works of 

 men who are able only to observe and describe objects, 

 with feeble capacity for reasoning and reflecting on that 

 which they observe, — so long will those Floras fail to 

 afford any great assistance towards clearing away those 

 difficulties, even if they should cease to increase them. 



At the present time a course has to be sought between 

 two opposite errors or evils. On the one side, by dis- 

 carding all the doubted species and distrusted natives, we 

 might go to work with a flora much under-stated in num- 

 bers. On the other side, by admitting all alleged species 

 and all alleged natives, we should be quite as likely to 

 work with a flora very largely over-stated. It has been 

 amply shown in preceding pages, that wide diversities of 

 opinion are entertained by different botanists on these 

 points. The still increasing extent of such diversities 

 renders it impossible to fix upon any intermediate course 

 between the two extremes, — that of apparent under- 

 statement, and that of apparent over- statement, — which 

 will be held at all satisfactory by more than a small 

 section among the botanists whose views and practices 

 diverge so widely. Due allowance must be made for this 

 practical impossibility, in any estimates of number, and 

 in all statistical comparisons. 



An extremely rigid selection might reduce the flora of 

 Britain below 1000 sj)ecies. A very free recognition of 

 doubted species and doubted natives, such as are or have 

 been believed in by some one or more botanists, might 

 likely raise the number above 2000 species. It is be- 

 lieved that lists could be made out which would substan- 

 tiate these discordant estimates, if it were deemed worth 

 while to devote time and type to an object so profitless. 

 The intermediate number between those distant extremes 

 would be 1500. Even this middle figure is much too 



