REPORT OF THE DISTRIBUTOR FOR 1880. 
The most prominent feature of the Club Distribution for 18S0 
is the smallness of the number of specimens, as compared to previous 
years, the total number of plants sent being about 3300, as against 
4800 of last year. Hence the members’ return parcels are necessarily 
small, the loss falling principally on our few most valuable contributors. 
Among the more interesting plants sent, is a considerable collection 
of Orkney species from Dr. Boswell and Mr. H. Halcro Johnston, 
including a new variety, Ruppia rostel/ata , var. nana , Boswell. The 
Club is much indebted to Mr. Baker, for looking through a number 
of the specimens, especially the Roses and Mints ; to Professor 
Babington and Dr. Boswell, for their notes and opinions on many 
of the critical species, especially the Rubi and Hieracia ; to M. 
D&eglise, for his remarks on some of the Roses and Mints ; to the 
Rev. J. E. Leefe, for his notes on the Willows ; to Mr. Arthur 
Bennett, for examining the Potamogetons ; and to Mr. Nicholson, for 
his notes on Iris, etc. 
I would call the attention of the members to the fact that a 
considerable number of the specimens sent to the Club are not 
sufficiently good to be of much use. It is extremely important, 
especially with critical species, to have fair-sized, well-selected, and 
carefully-dried specimens, whereas the whole of the specimens of 
some of the plants sent I have been compelled to destroy, being 
too imperfect to be identified by the authorities to whom they 
were referred. Professor Babington sends the following note on the 
subject: — “Members should be reminded that very much care 
and minuteness is requisite in collecting Rubi: notice and record 
the direction of the barren stem , the characters from the flowers, 
especially the relative lengths and colour of the stamens and styles. 
All foreign authors, such as Focke and Genevier, lay very much 
weight upon these points, and, I think, with reason. But they can 
hardly be determined from the dried plant ; certainly not from 
imperfect or imperfectly-preserved specimens, such as are often sent 
to me to name. I am now suffering from my ignorance of the value 
of these characters formerly. It is very seldom indeed that I find 
any of these points noted on the tickets sent with the plants. From 
the want of such notes, and the badness of the specimens in some 
other point of consequence, I very often cannot venture to append 
a name to the specimens with certainty.” 
