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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
named in Hooker’s Student’ s Flora as beginning to blossom not 
later than April, with a very few additions which I think 
ought also to be included, at all events in our southern counties, 
viz., Ranunculus bulbosus , Lamium album , and Myosotis collina. 
As my object is to ascertain the prevalent colour of the spring 
flora, I have confined the list to common plants, excluding 
those of less general distribution which might obviously intro- 
duce an element of error into the average. For this purpose I 
have taken as my guide the last edition of the London Catalogue 
of British Plants , and have struck out all which do not bear at 
least as high a number as 50. Though this mode of limitation 
is not altogether satisfactory — as plants of wide distribution 
may nevertheless not be common — it is, I think, the best avail- 
able. In the limitation of species, I have followed Hooker’s 
Student’s Flora. The classification of colours, where so many 
shades are represented, is not easy. I finally decided on ar- 
ranging them under five heads, viz., (1) white, (2) green, (3) 
yellow, (4) red and pink, (5) blue and violet. Yery slight 
shades of colour, as in Anemone nemorosa f Cardamine pratensis , 
and Oxalis acetosella, are neglected. The sweet violet is placed 
under two heads. Finally, several large natural orders in which 
the flowers are very inconspicuous are entirely passed over, viz., 
the Amentiferae, Juncaceae, Gramineae, Cyperaceae, and Coni- 
ferae. 
The following is the classified list of common early spring 
flowers thus obtained : — 
