the fourth annual report 
OF THE 
Moss Exchange Club, 
139 ©. 
The number of members is now 37, of whom 28 contributed 
3071 plants, including 2099 Mosses, 947 Hepaticae, and 25 to be 
named. Interest in Hepaticse is increasing, and will no doubt be 
extended by Mr. Pearson’s fine work on the “ Hepaticas of the 
British Isles,” several parts of which have appeared. It is to be 
hoped that it may be followed by a reliable Handbook, with illus¬ 
trations, or a Synopsis, which will be within reach of those who 
cannot afford the large work. 
An important paper by one of our members, Mr. S. M. 
Macvicar, on the Hepaticae of Moidart (Journal of Botany , Aug., 
1899), proves that the West of Scotland is much richer in these 
plants than had been supposed. 
After consultation with some of our leading members an 
attempt was made this year to submit the plants sent in for exchange 
to referees for examination and correction. This change caused 
some delay in the distribution and added considerably to the 
distributor’s work, but will, it is hoped, make the specimens of 
more value, as a large number of errors in naming were in this way 
discovered and corrected. We cannot yet vouch for the correctness 
of every one, as it was not possible in the time to examine each 
packet out of more than 3000. Errors arise in some cases through 
mixture, in others when gatherings of the same species have been 
sent in the same bundle from several localities—a practice to be 
deprecated. There are two kinds of mixture: 1st of species in a 
packet, which is often unavoidable, especially in the case of 
Hepaticse ; 2nd, of species in a bundle of packets, all labelled the 
same. 
In spite of these and other causes of error we may congratulate 
ourselves that a beginning has been made this year to overcome 
what has been hitherto the most serious fault in the working of the 
Club, the large number of errors in names. May we appeal to 
members to be more careful in the first instance, and not to put 
names without a ? unless they are sure, or have had their naming 
confirmed. 
As time goes on we shall probably have fewer specimens to deal 
with, (it would be better if they did not exceed 2000 in one year,) 
