66 



The Naturalist. 



Harvey's letter to Wilson, upon his return to Limerick, is worth 

 reproducing, as it relates not only to the precious lichen, but also to 

 some of the musci for which Wilson had asked him to be on the look 

 out: — "Limerick, 5 mo. 3rd, 1832. — Dear Friend: My journey to 

 Killarney was unfortunately limited, by unavoidable circumstances, to 

 the first week in April, and if I had not seized that opportunity of 

 going, I saw no prospect of being able to visit it for the season. I 

 may get there again for a week in August, but it is quite uncertain. 



" This early travelling prevented me from getting many things, and 

 I am sorry to say that I have got hardly any of thy requisites. To 

 take them seriatim : 



" Hypnum demissum : Thou must have miscalculated the time of 

 throwing up capsules. I could find none but old withered fruit, with 

 here and there a very young seta peeping up. Of course I have none 

 to send thee. 



" Rypnum micans : I found a few small patches, but no fruit. 



" Sticta macrophylla : I gathered a good share of this, the principal 

 part of which I have sent to our good friend Dr. Hooker, but I have 

 reserved two or three specimens for thee. Dr. Hooker bespoke it long 

 ago, and as he said he was ' sorely in want,' I deemed it right, in the 

 first place, to relieve his necessities. If thine are very pressing I will 

 keep them in view next trip. I gathered but little fruit, but I found 

 it on several patches at Cromagloun, also in the one thou mentions at 

 Turk cascade. At the first station I found one or two little scraps 

 with marginal fruit. 



" Hooke7'ia Icete-virens : I can give thee barren specimens, but I did 

 not find a single capsule, and the station is much injured. I found a 

 new station for this plant, and guess where 1 On the wet dripping rocks 

 opposite the station chair at Turk, growing among thy Marchantia 

 irrigua ! Thou seems to have a strange fatality with regard to this moss. 



" Marchantia irrigua : I gathered young fruit, which I can give thee, 

 but took no drawing or description, seeing the fructification was 

 only in embryo. The capsules had not burst their calyptra. The 

 male fruit I am uncertain of ; what I called such, grew on the 

 same frond as the female. 



^' Zygodun conoideim and Gymnostomum (Zygodon) vii'idissimum I 

 have for thee. The latter was not in abundant fruit, but I have got a 

 tolerable supply. It grows in this neighbourhood also, on elms, but 

 seldom throws up a fruit stalk. 



Jungermannia Entchinsioe gYoy<^^ m every mountain stream, but I 

 could find no trace of fruit. 



