Junk, 1890 . 
REPORTS OF SOCIETIES. 
141 
authority. An older name is P. silvestris, Neck. Bryonia dioica should 
be Jacq., not Linn., and Pollich is the authority for Valerianella 
dentata. V. mixta should be Dufr., not Duxe. Hudson, not Linnaeus, 
is the authority for Dipsacus silvestris. Hudson wrote Rumex Hydro- 
lapatheum for tbe great Water Dock. Trisetumpratense, Pers., precedes 
T. flavesceiis , Bea., and Hordeum marinum, Huds., should take the 
place of H. maritimum , With. 
Senecio crassifolius , Willd, is given as a variety of S. vulgaris , L. 
Until it has been proved to be a hybrid we should have given it specific 
rank. It occurred as a casual only, we presume. The writer found near 
Wangford some plants of Erythrcea Centaurium, Pers., somewhat inter¬ 
mediate with E. littoralis. 
We should think the statement that Callitriche vernalis , Koch., is 
common in all the districts, if applied to the restricted plant, is 
questionable. 
Does not Parkinson’s Clinopodium minus sive vulgare, from 
Thetford, in Norfolk, really belong to this county? We do not see 
Gerarde quoted for Spartium anglicanuvi, and instead of Astragalus 
glycypliyllus (in the sketch of Suffolk Botany), Gerarde is quoted for 
Hippocrepis , which he does not record as a Suffolk plant. In the Flora 
proper, Gerarde’s Astragalus record is also given to Hippocrepis. 
Neottia Nidus-Avis was first given, we believe, in Ray’s Historia, as 
well as some other Suffolk plants. 
The mosses and lower cryptogams still require cataloguing. 
As we have said, very hearty congratulations must be given Dr. 
Hind for his capital Flora. When shall we have such an one for the 
border county ? 
G. Claridge Druce. 
Reports of Sflrietus. 
BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL 
SOCIETY. —General Meeting. April 29. The President (Mr. C. 
Pnmphrey) in the chair. Mr. W. B. Grove, M.A., exhibited, for Mr. 
W. H. Wilkinson, the following fungi from Corwen :— Puccinia 
umbilici (rare), QZcidium ficarice, and Hirneola auricula-Judcc. Mr. W. 
B. Grove, M.A., gave the retiring President’s address on “The Theory 
of Instinct,” reviewing its history from the time of the early philoso¬ 
phers to the finest and most recent statements of Mr. Herbert Spencer, 
and the whole subject was treated in a most thorough and masterly 
manner. The address was listened to with great attention and 
interest. A discussion ensued, in which the following j'entlemen took 
part:—The President, Messrs. W. R. Hughes, W. P. Marshall, J. 
Udall, J. Clarke, C. Wainwright, and W. H. Wilkinson. A hearty vote 
of thanks was accorded to Mr. Grove, coupled with a request that he 
would allow it to be printed in the “ Midland Naturalist.”— Micro¬ 
scopical Meeting. May 6. Mr. W. P. Marshall, M.I.C.E., in the 
chair. Mr. Geo. Lavender exhibited, under the microscope, living 
specimens of Melicerta ringens and Hydra fusca from Sutton Park. 
