THE ANNALS AND MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY [SECOND SERIES.] No. 96. DECEMBER 1855. XXXIII. — On the Batrachian Ranunculi of Britain. By Charles C. Babington, M.A., F.R.S. &c.* It is with mucli diffidence that I venture to attempt the eluci-dation of the Batrachian Ranunculi of Britain, for the great difficulty of the subject necessarily presses heavily upon the mind. Also, it cannot be otherwise than disheartening to feci, that however successful I may be in my own estimation and even in that of my friends, and, that although my endeavours may result in a close approach to the acquaintance with the plants that has been attained in Sweden and France, it is certain that several of the most eminent of the botanists of Britain will consider that I have been wasting my time and retarding rather than advancing science. Had the views of those learned men been generally held by persons of equal scientific rank in othe;* countries, I should have thought it my duty to adopt them ; but as several of the most distinguished botanists of continental Europe do not think that they are *' idling away their time by catching at shadows,^' when they expend it upon an earnest endeavour to attain the most accurate possible knowledge of the plants inhabiting their respective countries, I am led to the belief that I am really doing well when trying distantly to follow their example. It has been justly remarked, that we have no good definition of a species amongst plants, and that it is hard or even impossible to apply those which we possess. Until species can be defined, each botanist is left to judge as best he can of what ought or ought not to be so considered. In the case which is about to be * Read to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Nov. 8, 1855. Ann. ^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. xvi. 26
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