74 THE BRITISH ROSES 
until the fruit has changed colour, but finally caducous ; the fruit 
large, ovoid, the primordial pyroid, ripening later.” 
Mr. Ley first described this as a species, but subsequently 
decided that it did not deserve specific rank, with which I quite 
agree. He reduced it to a variety of R. omissa in Lond. Cat. ed. 10, 
which is a far better arrangement. 
e seen some fifteen or twenty sheets of var. submollis, 
of Mr. Ley and Mr. Bailey. Mr. Ley tells me that he has 
described from all these collectively, and has not a defined type, 
but, as is usually the case, the more specimens one considers the 
wider the ground covered, so I find it difficult to give a compre- 
hensive view of the whole without unconsciously departing from 
the description intended by the author. 
Their prickles are rather short to moderately long, usually 
slightly conical, but not stout, either straight and horizontal or 
often somewhat declining, or more rarely directed upwards, or 
else and perhaps nearly as often somewhat curved, though hardly 
year which often spring from the flowering-branches, are quite 
be taken as typical. The leaflets are usually elliptical rather than 
oval, often rather narrowly rounded at the base and acuminate at 
h 
mollis, though described as rather more curved than in mollis, are 
not so in the specimens examined ; moreover, Mr. Ley tells me 
. ts fruit is smooth and ovoi 
usually hispid or even aciculate, and 
