178 7. VIOLACEiE. 



Latitude 50 — 56. English (?) ty]3e of distribution. 



Agrarian region. Inferagrarian — Superagi'arian zones. 



Descends nearly to the coast level, in England. 



Ascends to 100 or 200 yards, (in Peebles?). 



Range of mean annual temperature 51 — 46. 



Native. Pascual, &c. It will be troublesome to deter- 

 mine the true distribution of either of the varieties or spe- 

 cies, intended by the above two names. I beheve them to 

 be simply two varieties of a single species, passing so gi'a- 

 dually one into the other, as to render any definite or per- 

 manent distinction quite impossible ; and I am well 

 assured, by examination of specimens and labels, that the 

 two names are usually apphed indeterminately and conjec- 

 turally. Were this the only difficulty, it might still be 

 easy to ascertain the distribution of the two in connexion, 

 although not that of either singly and apart from the other. 

 Unfortunately, dwarf examples of V. canina, differing from 

 the typical form in size alone, have been repeatedly mis- 

 taken for Smith's V. flavicoruis ; and Mr. Forster has done 

 his best to perpetuate this eiTor, by publishing some such 

 dwarf examples of V. canina, imder name of V. fiavicornis, 

 in the Supplement to English Botany, plate 2376. And 

 apparently misled by that plate, Mr. Babington has ex- 

 tended the error, by referring to the plate as a figm-e of the 

 true V. fiavicornis of Smith, and likewise of his own variety 

 "pusilla." He should have omitted the reference to 

 " Sm. ;" the plant of Smith being a different thing, and 

 not agreeing with any of the varieties recorded in the 

 Manual, though coming between "montana" and "Ruppii" 

 of that work. It cannot be the " montana," as described ; 

 because Smith's plant has small fiowers, when compared 

 with V. canina, which differ also in tint and shape. Nei- 

 ther can it be " Ruppii," because the leaves of Smith's fia- 

 vicornis are not " narrowed into the petiole." WhUe 



