Digitized by the Internet Archive In 2009 with funding from Ontario Council of University Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/transactionsproc10bota A Pi] Laie! AV Ye ht ciad repealed, os) ey (us Y yy pi wm | “13th a 1) aa ey — Phew | ~ “ wi bir TRANSACTIONS «74 PRo tt CD/IV9 OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETYs< —_ , pm , £S me ED/INBUROXY VOLUME X. / EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY. MDCCCLXX a PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDIN CONTENTS OF VOL. X. PROCEEDINGS FOR NOVEMBER 1868. Page Opening Address by the President (CHARLES JENNER, Hsq.) .....e00..c0eseeeeee 1 I. Description of Hieraciwm collinum, of Fries, a new British Plant. By CNS SUMOUR. | (Plate lt) csccsca: cas -ecastesecestactenatenec res srceetasscecaarencaee 17 II. Notice of Grimmia contorta of Schimper, a New British Moss. By Pro- ROSH OU EGRUH S wacesannacnennsscacssduesecerudnceseracceser sess onssascsramsnctsesscasaccssses-snsane PROCEEDINGS FOR DECEMBER 1868. I. Reports on Botanical Excursions in July and August 1868. By Professor PAULO Rac cte ce sien wa-toaca auntie raascis canoes sacetatene exasstee sessieseseasactevccdenececusereaens 23 II. Notes on the Flora of Malta and Sicily. By Dr H. CLEGHORDN ............ 28 IIT. On the Preparation of fungi. By Mr James ENGLISH, Epping. Com- PEIICATEO Dye ETOLESSOL AMOUR) vetesessescesss en sss/-cccesecscoues-nessescccensceseeseoaeses 28 ies Miscellaneous: Communications \v..0s.. cots sodeesthessacstdossauuectectssesoasssieder 29 PROCEEDINGS FOR JANUARY 1869. I. Obituary Notice of Professor C. F. P. von Martius, of Munich, and Adal- bert Schnizlein, Erlangen. By Dr CLEGHORN......c..ccsececessassscsccesesce-secnnsecess 30 Il. The Lichen Flora of Greenland. By W. LauprErR Linpsay, M.D., NSE eng re is Oe a tarceeen a = fanaa avo secrceuesces cus aesvekssesaidecatlcs sachbiocdewesueosssaeosesenss 32 III. Notes of Diatomacez from Danish Greenland, collected by RoBERT IBROWN= | By Professor Dickim; Aberdeen: (No. Ti. s..c2ns6.c<-ossedeasesceveesseosns-s 65 IV. Notice of Mosses found by Mr Charles Jenner and Mr Charles Howie in Inverness-shire and Ross-shire, in July 1868. By Mr Howin, Largo ............ 67 VY. On the Staining of Microscopical Preparations. By Dr W. R. M‘Nas... 71 VI. Letter from Dr R. O. Cunningham to Professor Balfour, dated H.M.S. SaWassaay-- Valparaiso od November 1868) .......ccoccostescactasucsdesesectsressosvasse 75 VII. Report on the Open-Air Vegetation at the Royal Botanic Garden. By WWE pA eet as sa acksterateaknccsaneescacacssesecacecasc cea cecsecert cavescustasnesaondues toosentes 80 VIII. Report on the Botanic Garden at Natal. By Mr J. M‘Ken, Curator. 81 jee eMiscellanedus: Communicatlons:.......cc2<.0+ccs2s-avcasteossteesddeseesssee-csseeens 81 PROCEEDINGS FOR FEBRUARY 1869. I. Experiments on Colour-Reaction as a Specific Character in Lichens. By PPD RUIN D SAY. M.D. BES. He, Heir. aces cies savesnecstescecusnosssvesouecsnces 82 Il. Notice of a Trip from Deyrah Dhoon to Jumnotri. Part I. By Mr IVIDUISUAMMESIOEIES hace tccensssscsecossssacasssiseccnedesevensesccsasssueteeseestscenssseeesacasesbos% 98 Tit. Remarks on some Deep-Sea Dredgings, transmitted by Captain WILLIAM ACEONENEO:, ese LOLESSOT: D)TOKU sac. cule seen ce ore cs donciossanccncSneesecasensacams-covens=-n->< scans aena=aa VI. Report on the Open-Air Vegetation at the Royal Botanic Garden. By WV NTEINIA Becctcctcs foecaetensen sa: sensc.c...occesa--tesemsdess>+0n cenecesertacaenmes 200 PROCEEDINGS FOR JUNE 1869. I. Obituary Notices of the late Dr William Seller and of Professor Bertoloni gigtolorna, — By Dr CLUEGHORN: |. <.6...0.5 ccssscedddsswsevet ses ausenacs sassanteee eee 202 i> Miscellancous) Communications... ..:..0.2-c.ccsscdsacesseueseccncecusedeeoseeeeene oan 206 PROCEEDINGS FOR JULY 1869. I. Notes of a Botanical Tour in Ladak or Western Tibet. By J. L. STEWART, MoD Conservatorion Horests, (Punjabi .+-se-ccscsessecscsd eves oncen-coeseneenee meena 207 II. Notes on the Famine Foods of Marwar. By Assistant-Surgeon GEORGE Kiva, M.B., lately attached to the Marwar Political Agency. Communicated Dygemoressor DICKIE, Aberdeen: =..<.c:..:+s.A ried Naar sana Distribution of the Coniferee and Gnetacez. 183 baceous flora, many species of which are also found through the Arctic regions.* V. Tue Mexican Province may be divided into three regions. A. The New Mexican, comprising the region of which the state of that name is the centre. Characteristic species :— Pinus Gregeii, Engl. Pinus edulis, Engl. Abies Engelmanni, Parry. | Picea concolor, Engl. B. The Aztec or Mexican Region proper. Characteristic species :— Pinus Teocote, Ch. and Sch. Pinus pseudo-Strobus, Lindl. patula, Schred. and Deppe. ayachuite, HE. Hhr. Chihuahuana, Engl. Taxodum mucronatum, Ten. Montezume, Lamb. Cupressus Lindleyi, AJotsch. 8. macrophylla, Lindl. thurifera, Humb. Lindleyana, Gordon. Juniperus mexicana, Schiede. Hartwegil, Lindl. tetragona, Schlecht, leiophylla, Schiede et flaccida, Schlecht. Deppe. Taxus globosa, Schlecht. oocarpa, Scheede. C. The Guatemalan Region.—Southern Mexico and Northern Central America. Characteristic species :— Pinus filifolia, Lindl. Cupressus Benthami, End/.(which tenuifolia, Humb. is, however, also got further Picea religiosa, Benth. north.) VI. Tropica AMERICAN oR CoLumBIAN Province.—The higher ranges of mountains of equatorial America produce the following characteristic species :— Podocarpus silicifolia, Klotsch. | P. macrostachya, Parl. P. Sprucei, Parl. P.taxifolia, Kunth. (Alsoin Peru.) * These phyto-geographical regions will be fully described in the author’s separate work on the Phyto-geography and Forest Trees of North-West America, now in preparation. Those to the northward have been already to some extent described in various papers in the Transactions of this and the Royal Geographical Society, in my memoir Das Innere der Vancouver Insel (Petermann’s Geogr. Mitt. 1869, heft i—iii. tafel i.), in various papers in Cassell’s “‘ Illustrated Travels,” and Vancouver [sland Explorations (Victoria, vie )., 1865). 184 Mr Robert Brown on the Geographical VII. Brazmian Province.—The Brazilian Andes and the mountains in the vicinity of the upper reaches of the Amazons. Characteristic species :— Gnetum paniculatum, Spruce. Ephedra humilis, Wedd. (Bo- Leyboldi, Tul. livia.) amazonicum, Tul. Tweediana, Fisch. et Mey. thoa, R. Br. (English (Buenos Ayres.) Guiana.) americana, Humb. nodiflorum, Brong. (Buenos Ayres.) (French Guiana.) triandra, Tul. venosum, Spr. et Benth. | Araucaria braziliensis, A. Rich. macrostachyum, Spr. et | Podocarpus Sellowii, Klotzch. Benth. VII. Cuit1an Provincr, comprising Peru, Chili, and Patagonia. It is divisible into— A. The Araucarian Region—Chili and Peru. Characteristic species :— *Ephedra andina, Péppig. Lepidothamnus Fonki, Phil. Araucaria imbricata, Pav. *Podocarpus oleifolia, Don. chilensis, Endl. * chilina, Rieh. B. The Magellanic Region, comprising Patagonia. Characteristic species :— } Fitzroya patagonica, Hook. fil. , Podocarpus nubigena, Lindl. Saxe-Gothea conspicua, Lindl. | t andina, Péppig. These regions, more especially the Magellanic, have some connection with the Australasian in the nature of the genera, and indeed (in herbaceous species) with species too. VIII. Toe AntTILLES Province.—The West Indies and Florida. Characteristic species :— Pinus cubensis, Griseb. (Cuba.) | Torreya taxifolia, Arn. (Florida.) occidentalis, Swartz. (San | Podocarpus coriacea, Rich. (Ja- Domingo, Cuba.) maica and Montseratt.) Juniperus bermudiana, Linn.| P. Purdieana, Hook. (Jamaica.) (Bermuda and Florida.) aristulata, Parl. (Cuba.) * Those marked * are common to Peru and Chili. The others are, as far as we yet know, peculiar to Chili. + Those marked + are common to Chili and Patagonia. Distribution of the Coniferee and Gnetace. 185 It thus seems as if this province could be divided into at least two regions—A. The Floridan, and B. The West Indian. The species are, however, so few in number, as scarcely to admit of such generalisations being indulged in. Notwith- standing the proximity of these islands to Central America, and their similarity of climate, the two countries do not possess a single species in common. IX. Japanese Province.—Asia, near Behring Straits, is closely connected with the opposite American shores, and, accordingly, we need not be surprised to find that some species of coniferee are common to both sides. The Asiatic islands included in the Japanese Archipelago, and the greater portion of the peninsula of Kamschatka, are, how- ever, sufficiently distinct in species to merit being divided off into a separate province. The connection of the Japanese and the North-West American floras has been pointed out by various observers, and the similarity of the zoology of the two provinces has been also remarked.* That these islands, the opposite Asiatic and American coasts, were originally part of one continent, there can, I imagine, be but little doubt. The Japanese province resolves itself into two very natural and extensive regions. These are— A. The Cipangiant Region, comprising all the Japanese islands north-west to the Kuriles. Characteristic species :— Pinus densiflora, Sieb. et Zuce. | Abies obovata,Ant.(Kurilesonly). Thunbergii, Pari. aragagi, Sieb. parviflora, Sieb. et Zuce. | Picea brachyphylla, Pari. Larix leptolepis, Endl. firma, Ant. Abies Alcoquiana, Veitch. | selenolepis, Parl.t * Spence Bates, in Lord’s “ Naturalist in British Columbia,” vol. ii. &c. ; vide also Asa Gray on the Flora of Japan, in Mem. American Acad. of Arts and Sciences, vol. vi. n.s.; and Miquel, in the Transactions of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Amsterdam, 1866 ; and in the Archives Neerlandaises, 1867. + The old voyagers, in search of a North-West Passage, used to speak much of the land of Cathay (China) and Cipango (Japan), which they hoped to reach. The phrases have now become classical. t Picea Veitchii, Lindl., changed by Parlatore to the present name, on account of Roezl having already applied Mr Veitch’s name to a Mexican species of Pinus. 186 Mr Robert Brown on the Geographical Sciadopytis verticillata, Steb. et Zuce. Thujopsis dolabrata, Sized. et Luce. Chamecyparis pisifera, Sieb. et Luce. Juniperus conferta, Parl. Taxus tardiva, Laws. Cephalotaxus pedunculata, Sted. - et Zuce. C. drupacea, Sted. et Zuce. Torreya nucifera, Sieb. et Zuce. Podocarpus nagela, R. Br. Podocarpus macrophylla, Don. C. obtusa, Sieb. et Zuce. C. squarrosa, Sieb. et Zuce. Juniperus rigida, Sieb. et Zuce. B. The Kamschatkan Region, comprising a part of the Amur River Region near the coast, and all Kamschatka, cut off by a range stretching down from the Arctic Sea and joining the Altaic Range, which again limits the southern range of the Siberian flora, Characteristic species :— Pinus Cembra, Linn., var. pumila. (This is also found at Kotzebue Sound. I am, however, inclined to believe it a member of the Athabascan American flora (ut antea) common to the Asiatic coast, rather than belonging to the flora under question.) Pinus koraiensis, Sieb. and Zuce. | Abiespolita, Ant. (Japan & Corea). (Japan, Kamschatka, and | Picea holophylla, Parl. Corea). Abies Menziesii, Dougl. (The last mentioned is one of the most remarkable members of the characteristic North-West American flora, which stretches down to the Kurile Islands in stragglers. It has also been found in Eastern Siberia and Japan.) Many of the Japanese coniferee, though nominally dis- tinct, are closely allied to the North-West American species, as has been well shown by Mr Murray in his well-known work on the Japanese Conifere.* X. Carnayan Province.—China, south of the Altai Mountains, seems to have some conifere peculiar to it, but we know too little of the flora of China, more especially of the northern portion, to map out its phyto-geography with any approach to precision. It appears, however, that the Corean flora is more allied to the Japanese than to the * Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society, 1862. ee Distribution of the Coniferee and Gnetacee. 187 Chinese, and that the conifere, atleast of Cochin-China, are members of the Indian province. Characteristic species :— Pinus Massoniana, Lamb. Cunninghamia sinensis, 2. Br. Larix Kempferi, Lamb. Cryptomeria japonica, Don. Abies Fortunei, Parl. (Also Japan, but probably introduced, as several of the Japanese ornamental plants appear to have been, from China. ) Glyptostrobus heterophyllus, Cephalotaxus Fortunei, Hook. Endl. Torreya grandis, Fortune. Juniperus taxifolia, H. & A. Gingko biloba, Linn. spheerica, Lindl. Podocarpus chinensis, Wail. XI. Inpran Province, comprehending the species of conifere belonging to the warmer portion of India and Cochin-China, &c., distinct from those found on the higher reaches of the Himalayas. It is nearly connected with the Indo-Malayan Province, to be presently described. Characteristic species :—— Pinus longifolia, Roxb. | Podocarpus latifolia, Wall., fe. Limited as are the number of species, they are, though not all peculiar to this province, yet so characteristic of it, as to justify us in dividing it into a separate province. XII. Inpo-Matayan Province.—Some years ago Mr Alfred Wallace showed in a paper, which is now becoming almost classical,* and more recently in his work on the ‘Malay Archipelago,’} that the fauna of the islands of the Malay Archipelago might be divided into two distinct faunas—the one of the islands nearest the Indian continent partaking of the characteristics of the fauna of India— hence the name he applied to it. The other was of the peculiar Australian character, he therefore designated it the Austro-Malayan. He does not seem to have claimed for this division the merit of also holding good with regard to the floras; but if his grand generalisation is sound, one * Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxxiii. (1863), p. 217. + London, 1869. 188 Mr Robert Brown on the Geographical would think that this would also hold true. In studying the coniferee of the Malay Archipelago, I have found that the species resolve themselves into two groups on either side of ‘“ Wallace’s Line,’—the only exceptions being so doubtful that they almost confirm the law,—lI have there- fore kept up his name, though I ought to remark, as far as we yet know, only two of the coniferz of the Malay Archi- pelago have been found in India, and not one in Aus- tralia. Characteristic species (of Indo-Malayan Province) :—* Gnetum Griffithsii, Parl. Cephalotaxus sumatrana, Mig. neglectum, Blume. Podocarpus Blumei, Endl. 8 microcarpum, Blume. Beccarii, Parl. scandens, Roxb. (also in falciformis. Sikkim.) polystachya, R. Br. funiculare, Blume. tleptostachya, Blume. Dammara Motleyi, Bece. Rumphii, Blume. Pinus Merkusii, Jungh. et de Teysmanni, Mig. Vriese. amara, Blume. tDacrydium elatum, Wail. neglecta, Blume. Beccarii, Parl. cupressina, R. Br. Phyllocladus hypophylla, Hook. Cummingii, Parl. Jil. XIII. Austro-Manayan Province.—The species in this province are fewer than in the former, possibly for the rea- son that the botany of the islands nearer India has been more closely studied than the others. They are as fol- lows :— Characteristic species :— Gnetum latifolium, Blume. | Podocarpus bracteata, Blwme. Dammara alba, Rumph. XIV. Tue AvustRALAsIAN Province.—) 262 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. received, after long absence, may not accord with your ideas, and I therefore crave your indulgence, as things often appear in a different light to a stranger and to a resi- dent. In the same way I may omit to allude to some points which appear more prominent to you, and which may have altogether escaped my notice. I have prepared a Catalogue Raisonnée of such works as have come under my observation, published during the past twelve months, the divisions of this catalogue being nearly the same as those given in Dr Greville’s ‘Report of the Progress of Botany for 1840,” which was a model of what an annual address should be. Here I incidentally remark, that it may in one way be considered advantageous that the Pre- sident should initiate the session in November by an open- ing address. On the other hand, there seem strong grounds for recommending that his annual report should embrace an account of the progress of botany from Ist January to 31st December. About thirty years ago there was in Scotland a goodly number of zealous and industrious botanists, each possess- ing an extensive general herbarium, who often met at each other’s houses for the purpose of comparing specimens and interchanging information. This earnest spirit led, in 1836, to the formation of this Society, which has flourished with fair success for thirty-three years, mainly owing to the continual efforts of the Regius Professor to keep alive an interest in its meetings. Of the twenty-one original members, only nine survive:—Resident—J. H. Balfour, M.D.; James M‘Nab. Non-resident—W. 1. Campbell, LL.D., Demerara; Edward Charlton, M.D., Newcastle; Giles Munby, London; Richard Parnell, M.D., Melrose; R. C. Alexander Prior, M.D., London; Nicholas Tyacke, M.D., Chichester ; George C. Wallich, M.D., London. And in the surrounding circumstances, also, great changes have befallen the Society. The University Herbarium, which previ- ously contained the collections of Roxburgh, Buchanan, Menzies, &., has absorbed most of the private collections of the original members, viz., those of Greville, Balfour, W. H. Campbell, P. Neill, G. M‘Nab, and others. Large additions have been made by donation and purchase, and there is now a good illustrative herbarium of all the 4 ee Sy? eld ye ee Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 263 quarters of the globe. It is arranged according to De Candolle’s system, and subdivided so as to represent physico-geographical or geographico-botanical sections. It is remarkable how few general herbaria belonging to private individuals now exist, either in Britain or on the Continent, although we have many collections illustrative of the British flora, and of particular classes of the vege- table kingdom, as ferns, mosses, alge, diatoms, which re- quire less expense in formation and less space for safe custody. The difficulty of preparing a general herbarium, however, does not apply to Cryptogamic botany. Scotland is as rich a country in Cellulares as any in Europe, and has always been famous for cryptogamic botanists. Of those now at work I may mention promi- nently one of our oldest members, Professor Dickie of Aberdeen, an accomplished physiologist and algologist, who has contributed the results of many original researches of a high order; and Dr Lauder Lindsay of Perth, an mdustri- ous and well-known lichenist. Another of our members, Dr Carrington, is a high authority on the Jungermannie ; and my predecessor, Mr C. Jenner, is known by his invest gations of the uni-cellular alge. The difficulty felt by private individuals of forming and preserving general herbaria, renders it of great importance that national museums should exist for the reception of the valuable collectiens of officers on foreign service; and few things strike me more than the wonderful growth of the museum and herbarium at Kew, where travellers and scientific botanists from all parts of the world take up their quarters for the sole purpose of working in that admirably arranged establishment, the fame of which is so great that in all countries it is looked upon as the grand centre of botanical science. The effects of centralisation which are manifest at Kew are seen in other countries also. In Paris, there is the Jardin des Plantes, presided over “by Professor Brongniart ; in Florence, Professor Parlatore works in the Orto Botanico ; Professor Alphonse De Candolle, at Geneva ; in Berlin, Professor A. Braun; in Vienna, Professor Fenzl ; and in the Garden at Calcutta, Dr Thomas Anderson has brought the vast Indian Herbarium into excellent order.* * An annual erant was made in 1861; the general and the Indian Her- 264 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. In all these great capitals, government assistance is freely and properly given to centres from which useful influences radiate to the provinces. But to return to Edinburgh. To render the combined collections of the Edinburgh College and the Botanical Society permanently useful, to make provision for their continual increase, and to place the whole on a footing worthy of our great University, the services of a skilled curator seem alone to be wanting. We may hope, that in these days, when the claims of science to State assistance are acknowledged, this will soon be accorded. While speaking of herbaria, I have to record, with peculiar pleasure, that the Senatus Academicus of Glasgow, aided by the liberality of the citizens, has been enabled to arrange with the trustees of Dr Walker-Arnott’s estate for the acquisition and custody of his library and herbarium in the magnificent new College buildings. The conjoint value of these collections is very great; the books contain many notes descriptive of the treasures of the herbarium; and to the student of botany in Glasgow access to these is no small privilege. We rejoice that Dr Walker-Arnott’s successor is a man who can, and does appreciate the value of these stores, being himself thoroughly devoted to the science he professes. Dr Dickson has, as you are aware, contributed many valuable papers to our “ Transactions.” In reviewing the past, we cannot but connect the flourishing state of botany in Scotland with the influence of Sir William Hooker. During the twenty years of his professorship in Glasgow he published, at his own cost, thirty to forty volumes of original botanical matter, illus- trated with 5000 plates by his own pencil. This large amount of scientific hard work produced good fruit, and aided by his kindly and gracious manners, many were attracted to follow the same pursuits. I cannot forget his encouraging words of farewell when I went to India as an assistant-surgeon in 1842, soon after he had settled at Kew. The late Dr Walker-Arnott mentioned to me that it was Sir William Hooker who inspired him and Dr barium have been all mounted, and placed under a special curator, Mr Kurz, since 1868. A new building for the Herbarium was completed in 1867. Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 265 Greville with the love of their favourite science; and my first teacher, Dr Graham, was stirred up in Edinburgh by rivalry with Glasgow. Another feature in the retrospect is very striking. ‘Two men of science, who possessed a remarkable influence in their day, have passed away, each leaving a valuable legacy in a long series of philosophical journals, published in Edinburgh, and extending over nearly half a century ; I mean Sir David Brewster and Professor Jameson. Both of these journals, some years ago, came to an end, with- out in either case any general index to render their vast stores of learning easily available. Here is work for some industrious student who wishes to render good service to us all. The forthcoming general index of scientific papers to be published by the Royal Society, London, will supply toa certain extent this want; but to those persons possess- ing Brewster’s and Jameson’s journals, a separate index would be of great value. In the room of these two well- known periodicals, which occupied the whole field of general science at the time (I allude to thirty years ago), there is now a host of journals devoted to special branches of science. Each circle of investigators has its own mouth- piece. For example, we have ‘“ The Chemist,” “ The Phar- maceutical Journal,” ‘“‘ The Naturalist’s Note-book,” “‘ Zoolo- gist,” “ Journal of Botany,” “ Annals of Natural History,” “ Journal of Microscopical Science,” “The Quarterly Jour- nal of Science,” “ Monthly Journal of Microscopical Science,” “Scientific Opinion,” “Science Gossip,” “Nature,” and others. All who know our esteemed Regius Professor (Dr Balfour) must admire his exemplary devotion to the duties of the class-room, his unrivalled series of diagrams, and his unabated enthusiasm in the field. And I may be permitted to allude to the benefit he confers on many of his former pupils, by his intercourse with them after they enter on distant spheres of duty. I myself am under great obligations to him for regularly transmitting the proceedings of this Society, and for keeping me acquainted, when in India, with much that was occurring in the botanical world at home, of which I would otherwise have remained ignorant. But while under his faithful tuition, there is a much greater number of well-taught students; there are not now so many, in pro- 266 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. portion, who follow up the study of Natural History by individual research. After reflecting much on this subject, and the probable cause, I believe the reason is, that amongst medical men, for example, the standard of education has risen so high. Twenty years ago, the corporate bodies required a curriculum of three or four years; they require no more time now; but the present examination demands four times the amount of result from those three or four years that it required formerly. In my college days, if a student wanted to take up natural history, he neglected other classes, or employed his class hours in reading up bis favourite subject. All this is impossible now; a student to graduate at any university must devote all his time to medicine, surgery, &c., and the less to natural science the better for him. When, however, the young naturalist succeeds in passing the medical examination, he will find the greatest advantage from possessing a degree; if two men, of equal merit in science—one only being a graduate— are candidates for an appointment, the medical man will generally be preferred. But not only in the medical profession is there a paucity of working naturalists,—from kindred causes the same defi- ciency of original observers strikes one in all callings. In India this change is particularly noticeable. Among the ranks of the civil service we have no men of the stamp of Sir W. Jones, Colebrook, or Edgeworth, at the present day ; Sir Walter Elliot of Wolfelee is the last remaining type of this class; men are all occupied with increased office work aud manifold correspondence, and have no leisure to devote to amateur studies. It is to the trained staff of the scien- tific departments, the geological survey, the trigonometrical survey, exploring expeditions, and forest officers, &c., that we especially look to take fresh steps in science and de- velope the riches of the empire. I am more and more convinced that the elements of botany, zoology, and physics should be acquired before the student commences the study of the learned professions ; and now that the elementary education of the higher grammar schools is under discussion, it may be possible to arrange that the matriculation examination of our univer- sities should include the elements of the sciences of obser- > EN Ih AL pe Sal PI Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 267 vation ; something higher than elementary knowledge, of course, is required ina graduate. To produce emulation, there is great need of fellowships, scholarships, and natural history appointments in connection with local museums. At present, there are only the Falconer Memorial Fellow- ship, for encouraging the study of paleontology and geo- logy, and the Baxter Natural Science Scholarship, open to students of the University of Edinburgh: and for en- couraging the study of natural philosophy there is a Neil Arnot Scholarship both in Edinburgh and St Andrews. Colonial Floras.—The publication by Government of a series of inexpensive 8vo volumes, uniform in type, nomen- clature, and arrangement, descriptive of the British Colonial possessions, is a noble work, worthy of the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew (whose name I was glad to observe yesterday in the Gazette as a C.B.), and of the eminent botanists who assist him. Each volume contains not less thau 500 pages, with descriptions of not fewer than 1000 plants, and the price varies from 15s, to 20s. Of the proposed series of twelve floras, the following are com- pleted :— Hong-kong, vol. « Bentham. Australia, MAN vole: ; Bentham. New Zealand, 2 vols. . ; J. D. Hooker. South Africa, 3 vols. . : Harvey and Sonder. Tropical Africa, 1 vol. . : Oliver. West Indies, 1 vol. . ‘ Grisebach. The value of this series is very great, and it is to be hoped that the whole may ere long be completed. The want of a Flora Indica is a great hindrance to the develop- ment of the productive resources of that empire. Drs Hooker and Thomson, who commenced this work go well, had unusual advantages for carrying it out, but received no encouragement; ample materials exist at Kew, and there is no doubt that, with the publication of a Flora Indica, a new era would open for Indian botany. It is to be hoped that Dr Thomas Anderson, or some other qualified botanist, will soon be in a position to aid in this work, already begun by Drs Hooker and Thomson. In connection with this, I have to notice the publication of Professor * The fifth volume is nearly ready. 268 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. Oliver’s “ First Book of Indian Botany” (Macmillan & Co.); and an excellent work it is for those desirous of gaining a preliminary knowledge of the botany of India. The natural families are illustrated with excellent figures of typical species by Fitch. It is further a matter of gratification to find that His Grace the Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State for India, has recently sanctioned the publication of a ‘‘ Flora Sylvatica,” or Forest Guide for Northern India, uniform in size and type with the ‘Colonial Flora” series. This is to include all the useful trees and shrubs of the North-West Provinces, Punjab, Oudh, and Central Provinces, with concise descrip- tions and vernacular names, together with all such informa- tion regarding their condition in a native state, and under culture, as is obtainable in the present state of our know- ledge. The execution of this work has been entrusted to Dr J. L. Stewart, F.L.S., who is eminently qualified to turn the materials to good account. He has established himself at Kew for this purpose. It is of the highest importance for practical purposes, that all the timber trees, especially those reserved by the State, should be well delineated, whether as the only means of correct identification by the depart- mental officers, or for the purpose of spreading a knowledge of these trees among officers of public works, European settlers, and others. The importance of such illustrations cannot be exaggerated. ‘There are no published drawings in existence showing the character of the Teak, the Sal, the Sissoo, and similar trees, nor are there any accessible to the general public in India, or in England, delineating their foliage, flowers, or fruit. The ‘ Flora Sylvatica” of North India is therefore to be accompanied by a 4to volume of plates, uniform with Dr Wight’s invaluable “ Icones Plantarum Indiz Orientalis,” and with the ‘“ Flora Sylva- tica of South India,” now being published by Major Bed- dome, in Madras. Indian Forest Department.—It may uot be out of place here to allude to the openings for young men in the depart- ment of public service with which I have had the honour to be long connected. With the greatly extended forest operations which the growing demands of the community and the formation of railways necessitated, the want of Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 269 trained assistants was much felt, and the Secretary of State for India resolved, in 1866, to send out provisionally a few youths, properly trained, for service in the forests of India, until things are ripe for forming a forest-school in India, The first detachment of assistants, after two years and ten mouths’ education on the Continent, ending with a visit to the forests of Scone and Grantown in Scotland, have sailed for the East; a second party are now in the forests, and a third will undergo the preliminary examination next month. Much has been written in the ‘Gardeners’ Chronicle” and other periodicals with reference to these appointments; and as much misapprehension exists, it seems desirable to give the facts in regard to the object of the present arrange- ment. In Britain, while arboriculture is conducted with the greatest skill and success, and the finest specimens of ornamental trees and artificial planting may be seen, there is a comparatively small area of wood cultivated as a crop, and that is diminishing rapidly every year; of the wood grown for ornament or game, there is a much greater ex- tent. It is humbling for a Scotchman to confess that there is no school of forestry in this country where the different branches of study can be mastered. It is to be hoped that by the joint action of the Highland Society and the Scottish Arboricultural Society, an organised system of in- struction may be set on foot.* In Germany, the system of forest science and management is most elaborate and care- fully arranged. The works of Hartig, Burckhardt, &c., all published under Government auspices, show the importance - attached to forestry in a country where the population de- pends principally on wood for fuel. France also has large and well-regulated establishments for the conservancy of State forests. The chief training school is the Ecole Impériale Forestiére+ at Nancy, in the department of the Meurthe, an excellent institution ; in the immediate neighbourhood are very extensive tracts of natural forest, where the different branches of study can be mastered. * While these pages are in press, a Board of Forest Examiners has been formed in Edinburgh. { The course of instruction in the French Imperial School of Forestry is fully described by Mr Alfred Pengelly, in the “Quarterly Journal of Science,” Jan, 1870, p. 60. 270 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. Four youths are now under training in Prussia and four in France, and they are to finish their education by spending some time with a practical forester in Scotland. The experiment being tried is of great importance, and I doubt not such alterations will be made as seem expedient. The object aimed at is to secure the largest amount of theoreti- cal knowledge and practical training combined. It will be admitted that the youths would be imperfectly prepared for their duty in India if they had not an opportunity of seeing the timber slides of the Vosges, the Jura, or the Bavarian Alps, the valuation surveys, economical manufac- ture of tar and charcoal, and the collection of various articles of forest produce. These details prepare them for the arduous work which lies before them. In Britain, from the force of circumstances, the forests are very small, and the system of management, though sound and suitable on the small scale, is less adapted for the vast forests of India, In this country the scope is so limited, that no gentleman of position thinks of training his son to be a forester. In France and Germany it is otherwise, and Forestry is a regu- lar department of State service. With regard to the development of the botanical resources of India, I may notice that the Cinchona plantations in Bengal* now cover 1000 acres, and those in Madras} are considerably more extensive. Vigorous efforts are also made to introduce Cephaelis Ipecacuanha on the same principle, and, so far as it is possible to obtain a sufficient stock of plants from the botanic gardens and scientific nurserles of Britain, without a special mission to the Organ Mountains, this has been done. Dr Anderson hopes, on his return to India, to take out sixty plants obtained in Hurope. This introduction has been forced on Government by the new views in the medical treatment of dysentery, and the greatly increased price of the drug, which now sells at 9s. per lb. Some of the skilled Cin- chona gardeners, set free in consequence of the completion of operations, are available for the charge of cotton farms, instituted by Government in various suitable districts. * Ist Dec. 1869.—Total plants in Darjeeling, 2,248,970, the tallest 13 feet in height. t 31st March 1869.—The trees planted in 1862 vary from 21 to 24 feet. Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 271 Additions to British Flora.—The only addition that seems worthy of notice is that of Azra uliginosa, Weihe, in Galway (Mr A. G. More) and North Hants (Mr H. C. Watson), see Seemann’s ‘‘ Journal of Botany,” 1869, pp. 266 and 281. There are old Scottish specimens in the British Museum, as noticed by Baker in the “Jour. of Bot.” vol. iv. p. 176. Professor Babington has not entered the plant in the last (sixth) edition of his Manual, deeming the evidence of its occurrence insuflicient. Professor Balfour laid before us Hieracium collinum, Fries, discovered near Selkirk, which may prove to be H. dubium, L. Mr J. T. Boswell Syme has found Allium carinatum, Linn. Fries (non Smith), near Perth, where it had been supposed to be A. oleraceum; but the banks of the Tay are a perfect nursery of exotics, four or five American Asters, Petasites albus, Mimulus luteus, and others, so that the occurrence of a plant there is not sufficient to entitle it to be entered asa native. It might be worth while to examine the other Scotch stations of Allium oleraceum, in case of A. cartnatum occurring—the bright purple flowers and exserted stamens of the latter at once determine it when growing, but dried Allia are not easily distinguished. Messrs Jerdon and Gilbert Stuart have directed at- tention to the colonies of introduced plants which in like manner have lately appeared on the banks of the Tweed, particularly near Galashiels, where the wool which is brought to the factories is spread out to be bleached, and the seeds attached to it are there sown. The third edition of ‘‘ English Botany” has reached the 73d number (Hriophorum); ten numbers are required to finish the Graminece, with which the work will terminate. It is unnecessary for me to speak in praise of the descrip- tive part of this national work, which has been re- written by Mr Boswell Syme. Dr Hooker has almost com- pleted a ‘“Student’s British Flora,” a work which will contain a very extended account of British Plants, and will be a valuable pocket companion to the student. It is pro- posed to follow it by another work, with structural, physio- logical, and morphological observations on British plants. Professor Babington of Cambridge has brought out his long expected monograph of the difficult genus Rubus. 272 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. The descriptions of species are most elaborate, and this eminent botanist has rendered good service to critical stu- dents. There is a copious list of localities attached to each species, and a table showing the geographical distribution. Messrs Trimen and Dyer’s Flora of Middlesex is a re- markable book, and the full title expresses accurately what it contains. The introduction gives a succinct account of the topography, physical geography, and present botanical condition of the metropolitan county. There is a sketch of the rise and progress of botany in Middlesex from the time of Turner (1551) till the present day; this contains much new and interesting matter. The existing flora is minutely described and illustrated by a map—the county being divided into seven districts. Amongst the new elementary works, ‘‘ Hlementsof Botany,” by Professor Balfour, and ‘‘ Lessons on Elementary Botany,” by Professor Oliver, both for the use of schools, have appeared. The former is intended as a text-book for pupil- teachers and young students, with questions at the end of the chapters; the latter is designed to teach the elements of botany upon Professor Henslow’s plan of selected types, and is well illustrated. Messrs W. & A. K. Johnston have published Elementary Physical Atlases, for the use of village schools and similar institutions, at extremely low prices. These are neat and attractive, and the maps are coloured to show geological formations, and the geographic distribution of plants and animals. This enterprising firm has in view the publication of a series of Botanical Dia- grams, which will be of great value for the teaching of botany in schools throughout the country. Physiology.—In the September number of the ‘“ Annals of Natural History,” Mr Darwin has published additional ‘“Notes on the Fertilization of Orchids,” which brings up the literature of the subject to that date. Mr Darwin refers to all the papers bearing upon his work published since it appeared. These papers “‘ contain,” he states, “ cor- rections of some serious errors into which I had fallen; and, on the other hand, confirmation of many of my statements.” This is a most interesting and instructive contribution to science. In the same number is a paper “On the leaves of Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 273 Conifere,” by Mr Thomas Meehan of Germanstown, Penn- sylvania. He follows up the observations in Professor Dickson’s paper on the Phylloid Shoots of Sccadopitys verticillata (Procs. of Bot. Cong. 1866, p. 124). The con- clusions are—(1.) The true leaves of coniferee are adnate with the branches; (2.) Adnation is in proportion to vigour in the genus, species, or individual; (8.) Many so called distinct species of Conifers are the same, but in various states of adnation. Carriére has advanced similar views in the Revue Horticole (referred to in Gard. Chron., May 2, 1868). It is somewhat curious that while these gentlemen were considering this point of structure physiologically, Dr Brandis and I had our attention drawn to its practical bear- ing in Forestry, as may be seen by the following note to a paper on the Pines of the North West Himalaya, which appeared in the “Jour. of the Agri. Hort. Soc. of India,” Jan. 1867 (vol. xiv. p. 272). ‘¢ DURATION OF LEAVES IN CONIFERZ. Picea Webbiana, . Scans Pei Getic Abies Smithiana, . ; nora es s aie Cedrus Deodara, . é ar Pinus excelsa, ; : ; Lae longifolia, : ; Sadly 5 Bok Bir-c Gerardiana, : slat : “This peculiar character of the foliage indicates the re- quirements of the different species regarding light and shade. Pzcea and Abies thrive in more close and dark forests-than Pinus longifolia and Gerardiana.” Vegetable Teratology—Dr Maxwell Masters has given in the Ray Society’s volume for this year an elaborate and invaluable summary of our knowledge of abnormal develop- ment of plants. Many authentic notices of abnormal forms have been most carefully collected, and the volume is illustrated with two hundred figures. Algology.—The Diatomacez have occupied the attention of various observers in this country. Dr Donkin, Rev. J. O'Meara of Dublin, Mr Kitton of Norwich, and others, have recorded supposed new forms, and given additional localities for others previously known. The contents of the Diatomacez have been examined under the spectro- 274 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. scope by Professor Smith of America, and found to give the first absorption band in the red, characteristic of ordi- nary chlorophyll. Notes on the Diatoms collected in Greenland, by Mr Robert Brown, have been communicated to this Society by Professor Dickie, who also, at another meeting, con- tributed notes of the few species found among matter brought up from 2000 fathoms in the Atlantic by Capt. Chimmo, R.N. But the most valuable paper in this de- partment is that of Dr John D. Macdonald, R.N., in the Annals of Natural History, ‘‘On the Relations of the dif- ferent parts of the Frustule, and the function of Propagation by Division.” Dr G. C. Wallich, after long service in India, has turned his attention, with great zeal and success, to this department of botany. Itis very desirable that prac- tised observers, instead of merely giving details of supposed new species, should assume higher ground, and betake themselves to investigations regarding conjugation and subsequent development. The hair-splitting tendency in this, as in other departments, e.g., Lichenology, is one which every true Biologist must deprecate. Dr H. C. Wood of California has described two Alge, supposed to be new, viz., Nostoc calidartwm and Chroo- coccus thermophilus, growing in a hot spring near Benton, in that country, the temperature of which is 160° F. In the last volume of “‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles,” M. Ripart has written respecting the development of Spores in Mougeotia genuflexa ; the stages and results of conju gation are illustrated by excellent figures. In the June number of the same valuable periodical, there is a very good summary on the nature of the colour- ing matter of Fucoidee, by M. Millardet. The subject had been previously examined by Cohn, who named the inaterial Pheophyll, and indicated its relation to Chloro- phyll. Kraus has described the pigment as composed of Chlorophyll and Phycoxanthine. Arkenary and Rosanoff have also examined this subject. Millardet’s observations lead to the conclusion that there are three matters, in some way combined, to which certain marine alge owe their co- lour—viz., Chlorophyll, Phycoxanthine, and Phycophein the two former soluble in alcohol, the latter in water, Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 275 An important paper by Professor Dickie on the ‘“‘ Range in Depth of Marine Alge” was read at the April meeting of this Society, a summary of which is that probably 100 fathoms is the greatest depth at which sea-weeds exist. Even this is doubtful. A single recorded instance .of about 80 fathoms in the Irish Channel is mentioned, and a few other cases at 50, 40, &c., are given. Rabenhorst’s ‘“‘ Aleen Europas” now exceeds 200 decads. Kutzing’s “ Tabule Phycologice” still appear at intervals, and contain excellent figures of Alge from various parts of the world. Lichenology.— Various advances have been made in this interesting department of Cryptogamic Botany, and the recent literature has been voluminous. MM. A. Famitzen and J. Boranetsky of St Petersburg, after long investiga- tion, have been led to the conclusion that not only alge and fungi, but lichens also, are provided with zoospores. Dr Nylander of Paris made, in 1868, some important observations on the Cephalodia of Lichens, which were little known before he drew attention to their importance as fur- nishing a primary anatomical character. Dr Lauder Lind- say continues his studies on the Microscopical Anatomy of Lichens, and has published elaborate observations on ‘‘ New Lichenicolous Microscopic Fungi” in “Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin.,” vol. xxv. part 11.1869. His description of this obscure and puzzling group shows much original research, and he in- timates the near completion of a memoir on the Spermogonia and Pycnidia of the Lower Lichens. He has also worked out with great care all that is known respecting the lichens of Greenland, “Trans. Bot. Soc. Ed.,” vol. x. In 1840 only 59 species had been described, but Dr Lindsay enumerates 200 species and 68 varieties. He has also detailed the econo- mical uses of lichens as food for men and animals, and as dyestuff in northern Europe. Dr Lindsay has given in our Transactions (vol. x.) a record of Haperiments on colour reaction as a specific character in lichens. The results ob- tained do not support the assertions of Dr Nylander of Paris, and the Rev. Mr Leighton of Shrewsbury, as to the value of the reaction in botanical diagnosis, while reaction is said not to aid the dye manufacturer in determining the value of orchella weed. The Rev. J. Crombie enumerates in 276 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. the “Journal of Botany” many new lichens found by him in Scotland and England. I have not had an opportunity of seeing the History of Lichenology by Krempelhuterof Munich. Fossil Botany.—The most important contributions under this head are the series of papers by Mr Carruthers of the Botanical Department, British Museum, printed in the “ Geological Magazine,” and in the ‘ Transactions of the Royal Microscopical Society.” These are enumerated in the catalogue of botanical memoirs published during 1869. Mr Carruthers has paid special attention to fossil fruits and seeds, and his investigations into the Cycads and plants allied to Lycopods and Equisetums are of great value and importance. The Geological Society and the British Asso- ciation have recognised his services by supplying funds in aid of his researches. Library.—All great kindred societies (Linnean, Geo- erapic, Asiatic, &c.) have found the necessity of publishing a classified list, from time to time, of the books and pamphlets which have been acquired by presentation or purchase. A classified catalogue is a great desideratum towards placing our library on a footing in all respects worthy of the University with which we are connected. I doubt not members of the Society would expend both time and money in contributing to so important an object, in the belief that public aid would not be withheld, if required ; and I am confident that the publication of such a catalogue raisonnée, showing both our possessions and deficiencies, would lead to their supply. It will be remembered that in the infancy of the Society we received some valuable legacies of books, which are enumerated in the first three annual reports. List of Members. —At the commencement of this year, so far as we know, the members of our Society were as follows :—Resident fellows, 96; non-resident, 265; Lady members, 11; foreign and corresponding, 181; associates, 28,—total, 581. Of the Fellows more than half reside in Scotland, about 140 in England, 14 in Ireland, 20 in India, 5 in America, and 2 in the West Indies. During the year, 10 resident and 2 non-resident members have joined the Society. The Society has to record, during the past year, the loss of— Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 277 Dr W. Setier, F.R.S.E., formerly President. Anton10 BERTOLONI, Bologna, — \ Honorary Wainer. Cart F. P. von Martius, Munich, : Aprxpert ScunizLern, Erlangen, Foreign Member. W. S. Turnputt, Hunting Tower, Non-resident. A. J. Macrartan, M.D., at one time Curator. W. Brann, W.S., Auditor. Special notices of Dr Seller, and the distinguished honorary and foreign members, have already appeared in our Trans- actions, pp. 30 and 202. At a very recent date we have had to lament the loss of our auditor, Mr Brand, in whom the Society has been de- prived of the services of one who has contributed in no small degree to its prosperity, and whose place it will not be easy to fill. Mr Brand’s singularly methodic arrange- ment of details, his clear perception, and his early taste for natural history, were remarkable. I would have said more, but Professor Balfour proposes to give a short biographical notice of Mr Brand. The Council have this evening recorded their sense of the loss we have sustained. A Catalogue of Botanical Works and Memoirs, published chiefly in Great Britain during the year 1869. STRUCTURE. Bennett, A. W—On the Structure and Affinities of Parnassia palustris. Jour. Lin. Soc. xi. 24. Dickson, Alex—On the Development of the Flower of Pinguicula vulgaris, with Remarks on the Embryo of P. vulgaris, &e. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. xxv. 639. 1869. Duncan, Mr.—Note on the Stamens of Saxifrage. Jour. Lin. Soc. Sai as Meehan, Thomas.—On the Leaves of Conifere. Ann, Nat. His- tory, 4th series, iv. 213. PHYSIOLOGY. Bidard, M.—Structure of the Flower of Graminec, the Functions of the Organs, and the Phenomena of Fecundation. Ann. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. iv. 134. Darwin, C.—Notes on the Fertilisation of Orchids. Ann. Nat. Hist. iv, 141. Miquel, F. A. W.—On the Sexual Organs of the Cycadacee. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 64, 93. TRANS. BOT. SOC. VOL. X. as 278 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. DESCRIPTIVE AND CRITICAL. Balfour, J. H—Description of Hieracium collinum of Fries. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 17. Braun, A., and C. Bouche.—Revision of the Genus Sanguisorba. Jour. of Bot. vii. 202. Briggs, T. R. Archer—Notes respecting Plymouth Plants. Jour. of Bot. vii. 33, 317. Crombie, Rev. J—New British Lichens. Jour. of Bot. vii. 48, 105, 232. Dickie, George.—Notice of Grimmia contorta of Schimper. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 19. Gray, Asa.—Characters of a new Genus, consisting of two Species of Parasitic Gentianee. Jour. Linn. Soc. vol. xi. 22. Gulliver, George—Notes on Lemnacee, and on the Discovery of the Raphidian Character in Systematic Botany. Jour. of Bot. wil, 9: Hance, H. F—On the Genus Arthrostylis. Jour. of Bot. vii. 63. De Nova Rhamni Specie. Jour. of Bot. vii. 114. On Delima. Jour. of Bot. vii. 115. On the Phenix of the Hong-Kong Flora. Jour. of Bot. vil 15. On Habenaria Miersiana, Ch. Jour. of Bot. vii. 161. On Panicum Mandshuricum, Max. Jour. of Bot. vu. 41. On Capparis magna of Loureiro. Jour. of Bot. vii. 41. —— On Thesium decurrens, Bl. Jour. of Bot. vii. 42. On Sambucus chinensis, Lindl. Jour. of Bot. vii. 295. Hardy, James.—On Carex muricata. Procs. Berw. Nat. Club. vol. vil. 54. Lindsay, W. Lauder.—On some Composite of Otago. Jour. of Bot. vu. 252. Masters, Maxwell.—On the Genus Fremontia. Jour. of Bot. vii. 297. Miers, John.—On the Ehretiacee. Ann. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. mi. 106. On the Comparative Carpical Structure of the Ehretiacee and Cordiacee. Ann. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. ii. 383. On the Genus Symbolanthus. Jour. of Bot. vu. 217. More, Alex. G.—Note on Scirpus parvulus, Romer and Schultes. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 160. Prentice, C—On a New Species of Hypoderris. Jour. of Bot. vii. 240. Watson, H. C.—Aira uliginosa, Weihe, in England. Jour. of Bot. vii. 281, 337. Welwitsch, Fred—Sertum Angolense, sive Stirpium quarundam novarum vel minus cognitarum in itinere per Angolam et Bengue- lam observatorum Descriptio Iconibus illustrata. Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xxvii. Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 279 White, F. Buchanan.—On some British Plantagines allied to Plan- tago maritima, L. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. x, 171. FLORAS——-MONOGRAPHS—CATALOGUES, Aitchison, J. E. T—Flora of the Hushiarpur District of the Pun- jab. Jour. Linn. Soc. vol. xi. p. 17. Anderson, T.—Enumeration of the Palms of Sikkim. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xi. 4. List of Acanthacee cultivated in the Calcutta Botanic Gar- den. Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. India, vol. i. new series. Babington, C. C.—The British Rubi; an Attempt to discriminate the Species known to inhabit the British Isles. (Van Voorst). London. Baker, J. G—A Monograph of British Roses. Jour, Linn. Soc. vol. xi. 197. Buchanan, Dr Fr.—Index Butomacearum, Alismacearum, Juncagin- acearumque. Jour. of Bot. vii. 219. Dickie, G.—On a Collection of Plants from the North-East Shore of Lancaster Sound. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xi. 32. * Drury, H.—Handbook to the Indian Flora. Vol. iii, London. Fergusson, Rev. John —Mosses Indigenous to Forfarshire. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 245. Hance, H. F.—Sertulum Chinense quartum. Jour. of Bot. vii. 163. Notes on the Fern Flora of China. Jour. of Bot. vii. 234. Lawson, M. A.—On the Flora of Skye. Jour. of Bot. vii. 108. Mitten, G.—Musci Austro-Americani. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xii. Moore, Charles.— Vegetation of Lord Howe’s Island. Jour. of Bot. vii. 299. Schimper, W. Ph.—Synonymia Muscorum Herbarii Linnzani apud Societatem Linneanam Londinensem asservati. Jour. Linn. Soc. vol. xi. 246. Spruce, Richard—Palmze Amazonice, sive Enumeratio Palmarum in itinere suo per regiones Americ equatoriales lectarum. Jour. Linn. Soc. vol. xi. 65. Stewart, J. L—Punjab Plants, comprising Botanical and Ver- nacular Names and Uses of the Trees, Shrubs, and Herbs of Economical Value growing within the Province. Lahore, 1869. Trimen, Henry, and W. J. Thiselton-Dyer.—Flora of Middlesex: a Topographical and Historical Account of the Plants found in the County, with Sketches of its Physical Geography and Climate, and of the Progress of Middlesex Botany during the last Three Centuries. Hardwicke, London. ILLUSTRATED WORKS. Beddome, R. H.—Flora Sylvatica ; being Figures and Descriptions of the Timber Trees of the Madras Presidency. Parts 1 and 2. Madras. 280 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. Beddome, R. H.—Icones Plantarum Indize Orientalis; or, Plates and Descriptions of New and Rare Plants, chiefly from Southern India. Parts 1 to 4. Madras. Botanical Magazine, edited by Dr J. D. Hooker. No. 300, new series, or 995 of the entire work. Continued monthly. English Botany, 3d edition, No. 73, edited by J. T. Boswell Syme. Hooker, J. D.—Icones Plantarum ; or, Figures, with descriptive characters and remarks, of new and rare Plants selected from the Kew Herbarium. Third series, part 2. Lawson, Charles—Pinetum Britannicum ; a descriptive account of all hardy trees of the Pine tribe cultivated in Britain. No. 32. Seemann’s Journal of Botany, British and Foreign, vol. vii. Warner, Robert.—Select Orchidaceous Plants. Second series. Wilson, Saunders W.—Refugium Botanicum; or, Figures and Descriptions of little-known or New Plants of Botanical interest. Edited by W. Wilson Saunders, F.R.S. The descriptions by H. G. Reichenbach, Director of the Botanic Garden, Hamburg; J. G. Baker, F.L.S.; and other Botanists. Parts 1 and 2. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Brown, Robert.—On the Geographical Distribution of the Conifer and Gnetacee. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 175. Cleghorn, Hugh.—Notes on the Botany and Agriculture of Malta and Sicily. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 28. Craig-Christie, Alex—Notes of a Botanical Excursion to Shetland in 1868. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 165. Fournier, Eugene.—On the Geographic Distribution of the Ferns of Mexico. Noticed in Annals Nat. Hist. vol. iv. 75. Lindsay, Wm. Lauder.—The Lichen-Flora of Greenland. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 32. Mann, Horace.—Statistics and Geographical Range of Hawaiian Plants. Jour. of Bot. vii. 171. Ootacamund, Character and Flora of. Jour. Agri. Hort. Soe. India, vol. i. new series. Seemann, B.—The Northern Limit of Edible Berries. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 298. Stewart, J. L—Notes of a Botanical Tour in Ladak or Western Tibet. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 207. Stuart, Charles.—Botanical Notes on Central Berwickshire. Proes. Berw. Nat. Club, vol. vii. 71. G. C. A.—Account of some rare Genera and Species of Plants found by the sides of the Tweed and Gala in 1868. Proes. Berw. Nat. Club, vol. vii. 73. White, F. Buchanan.—Notice of the Occurrence of Rhamnus Frangula in Ross-shire. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 151. Opening Address by Di Cleghorn. 281 MORPHOLOGY. Masters, Maxwell—Vegetable Teratology; an Account of the principal Deviations from the usual Construction of Plants. Ray Society. London, 1869. Meehan, Thomas.—Varieties in Epigwa repens, L. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 78. Shortt, John.—On Branched Palms in Southern India. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xi, 14. VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY. Lindsay, W. Lauder.—On Chemical Reaction as a Specitic Charac- ter in Lichens. Jour. Linn. Soc. xi. 36. Experiments on Colour Reaction as a Specific Character in Lichens. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 82. MEDICAL AND ECONOMIC BOTANY. Bidie, George—Report on the Ravages of the Borer in Coffee Estates. Madras, 1869. Brownlow, C.—The Orange Groves of Shalla (Khasia Hills). Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. of India, new ser. vol. 1. 372. Account of the India-rubber Tree (Ficus elastica), and the Mode of collecting the Gum. Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. of Ind. new ser. 1. 311. Collins, J.—On India rubber ; its History, Commerce, and Supply. Jour. Soc. Arts. Dec. 1869. Dumaine, C.—Mode of extracting Oil from the Mowah Seed (Bassia latifolia). Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. of Ind. new ser. i, 394. Process of extracting Oil from the Nut of Semecarpus Ana- cardium. Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. of Ind. new ser. 1. p. 398. Mode of preparing the Cutch of Commerce from the Acacia catechu. Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. of Ind. new ser. i. 399. Howard, J. E—The Calisaya Barks of E. Bolivia. Jour. of Bot.vol vii. The Quinology of the East Indian Plantations, with three coloured plates. London, 1869. Ipecacuanha Plant, Correspondence connected with its Introduction to India. Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. India, vol. 1. new series. King, George-—Notes on the Famine Foods of Marwar. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 239. The Cultivation and Extraction of China-grass Cloth, or Rheea-Fibre (Béhmeria nivea). Jour. Agri. Hort. Soc. of India, new ser. 1. p. 400. Kirk, John.—On the Copal of Zanzibar. Jour. Linn. Soc. vol. xi. Lindsay, W. Lauder.—On the Economical Value and Application of the Leaf Fibre of New Zealand Flax. Jour. of Bot. vii. 22. Maclagan, Douglas.—On the Alkaloids contained in the Wood of the Bebeeru or Greenheart Tree (Nectandra Rodivi), Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. xxv. 567. 282 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. CRYPTOGAMIC BOTANY. Bell, Wm., and John Sadler.—Notes ot Mosses collected in Excur- sions round Edinburgh in 1869. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. Dickie, George.—Notes on the Range in Depth of Marine Alge. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 148. Donkin, A.G.—Notes on certain Fresh-water Species of Diatomacez. Quart. Jour. Micros. Science, vol. ix. 397. Howie, Charles.—Notice of Mosses found in Inverness-shire and Ross-shire in July 1868. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 67. Knight, Charles.—Notes on the Stictei in the Kew Museum. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xi. 243. Leighton, Rev. W. A.—Notule Lichenologice. Ann. Nat. Hist. Lindsay, W. Lauder.—Enumeration of Micro-Lichens parasitic on other Lichens. Quart. Jour. Micros. Science, ix. Observations on New Lichenicolous Micro-Fungi. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. xxv. 513. Mitten, W.—Enumeratio Muscorum omnium Austro-Americanorum hucusque cognitorum, preecipue in terris Amazonicis Andinisque R. Spruceo lectorum. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xii. Smith, Worthington G.—New and Rare British Hymenomycetous Fungi. Jour. of Bot. vii. 61, 249. Peziza macrocalyx, a new British Fungus, Jour. of Bot. vii. 348. FOSSIL BOTANY. Brongniart, M.—Note on a Fossil Lycopodiaceous Fruit. Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. iv. vol. iii. p. 74. Carruthers, Wm.—On some undescribed Coniferous Fruits from the Secondary Rocks of Britain. Geol. Mag. vol. vi. 1. On the Plant Remains found in the Cretaceous and Tertiary Strata of North America. Jour. of Bot. vii. 82. On Beania, a New Cycadean Fruit. Geol. Mag. vi. 97. — On the Plant Remains from the Brazilian Coal-Beds, with remarks on the Genus Flemingites. Geol. Mag. vol. vi. —— On the Genus Knorria, Sternb. Jour. of Bot. vii. 153. On the Structure and Affinities of Sigillaria. Quarterly Jour. Geol. Soc. vol. xxv. The Cryptogamic Forests of the Coal Period. Geol. Mag. vol. vi. 289. On the Structure of the Stems of the Arborescent Lycopo- diaceee of the Coal Measures. Month. Microsp. Jour. i. 177. Hancock, A., and T. Atthey.x—On some Fossil Fungi from the Black Shale of the Northumberland Coalfield. Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. iv. vol. iv. 221. Wanklyn, A.—Deseription of New Species of Fossil Ferns from Bournemouth Leaf Bed. Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. iii. 10. Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. 283 (While this is in press, Mr Carruthers’ excellent review of the Contributions to Fossil Botany in Britain appeared. Jour. of Bot. viii. 10.) ELEMENTARY WORKS. Balfour, J. H.—Elements of Botany for the Use of Schools. 8vo. Black, Edinburgh, 1869. Gray, Asa.—Field, Forest, and Garden Botany; a simple Introduc- tion to the Common Plants of the United States. 8vo. New York, 1869. Johnston, A. Keith.—Atlas of Physical Geography. Edinburgh. Oliver, Daniel. First Book of Indian Botany. 8vo. Macmillan, London. MISCELLANEOUS. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, including Zoology, Botany, and Geology, series iv. vol. iv. Balfour, J. H.—Notes of an Excursion to Clova in April 1869. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 196. Bennett, J. J.—Official Report of the Botanical Department, British Museum. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 266. Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club, Proceedings of the, vol. vil. Botanical Exchange Club, Report of. Botanical Society, Edinburgh, Transactions of, vol. x. part 1. Brown, Robert—On the Distribution of Forests in North-West America, with Notes on the Deciduous Trees and Shrubs. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 196. Cunningham, D.—Letter from H.M.S. “ Nassau,” surveying the Strait of Magellan. Jour. Linn. Soc. xi. 187. Dickie, G.—Remarks on some Deep-Sea Dredgings, transmitted by Capt. William Chimmo, R.N. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 103. Grigor, John.— Arboriculture; or, a Practical Treatise on Raising and Managing Forest Trees. 8vo, din. Guilfoyle, W. R.—Botanical Tour among the South Sea Islands. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 117, 121. Harvey, W. H., Memoir of, Professor of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin. Jenner, Charles—Annual Address to Botanical Society. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 1. Linnean Society Transactions, vol. xxvii. Journal, vol. xi. and xii. M‘Nab, W. R.—On the Staining of Microscopical Preparations. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 71. Seemann, B., and Capt. B. Pim, R.N.—Dottings on the Roadside to Nicaragua, Panama, and Mosquito. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 271. Journal of Botany, British and Foreign, vol. vii. Stuart, Gilbert, C.A.— Notice of Plants Naturalised on the Banks of the Gala and Tweed. Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. vol. x. 170. 284 Opening Address by Dr Cleghorn. Von Mueller, Ferd.—Report of the Victoria Government Botanist. Jour. of Bot. vol. vii. 183. Weddell, H. A.—Remarks on the Generic Name Cascarilla. Jour. Linn. Soe. vol. xi. 185. Wallace, A. R,—The Malay Archipelago. 2 vols. eye. Macmillan, London. Woolhope.—Naturalists’ Field Club, Transactions of; with Cuts and Photographs. Hereford. On the motion of Professor Balfour, a vote of thanks was cordially given to Dr Cleghorn for his address. The following Communications were read:— I. Obituary Notice of William Brand, Esq. By Professor BALFour. We have this year to lament the death of our Auditor, William Brand, Esq., W.S., one of the original members of the Society. The following is a list of those who met at my house, 15 Dundas Street, Edinburgh, on 8th February 18386, to constitute the Botanical Society :— R. C. Alexander (now Prior). Gilbert M‘Nab. J. H. Balfour. James M‘Nab. William Brand. Giles Munby. W. H. Campbell. Richard Parnell. Edward Charlton. Nicolas Tyacke. Kdward Forbes. George C. Wallich. He was the first Treasurer, and had continued ever since its formation to take a warm interest in its affairs. He was born in 1807, at Blackhouse, in the parish of Peterhead. lis early education was at the parish school there, first under the Rev. William Donald, and thereafter under the * Rev. John Imray, both subsequently parish ministers in the district. After leaving school, he was apprenticed to Messrs Robertson & Gray, writers in Peterhead, who were factors for the Merchant Maiden Hospital of Edinburgh, and had a large general business. After leaving their office, he went to Edinburgh about the year 1829, and entered the office of Messrs Scott, Finlay, & Balderston, W.8., and there served another apprenticeship. He entered the legal classes in the University. While prosecuting his legal Obituary Notice of William Brand, Esq 285 studies, he took a great interest in botanical pursuits, and attended the lectures of Professor Graham in the years 1830-31. He became devotedly attached to botany, and joined the Professor in excursions to various parts of the country, especially in the Highlands of Scotland, with the flora of which he became thoroughly acquainted. He was one of a zealous band of botanical students, who added much to the flora of Scotland, and who made large collections for distribution, The Herbarium of the Botani- cal Society was much enriched by their labours, and British botanists were largely supplied with specimens for their herbaria. Our Proceedings show the enormous labour which Mr Brand and others underwent in distributing speci- mens at the first formation of the Society. Mr Brand was a person of great energy and vigour, a shrewd and intelligent observer, an excellent and fearless cragsman, capable of enduring great fatigue, and of accom- modating himself to all the discomforts which might happen during excursions. His happy and cheerful disposi- tion rendered him a most pleasant companion; whatever occurred, he was never out of temper, but on all occasions was a true peace-maker. Having completed his legal education, he entered the Society of Writers to the Signet in 1834. He afterwards became a partner in the firm of Messrs Scott and Balder- ston. He was a most valuable man of business, and his reputation in this respect led to his election in 1846 to the office of Secretary to the Union Bank of Scotland, a situa- tion which he filled with great acceptance until his death. Mr Brand was elected Treasurer of the Botanical Society 17th March 1886, and for many years he performed most faithfully the duties of the office. He made several com- munications to the Society during its early years. In °* January 1838, Mr Brand laid before the Botanicai Society a scheme for the publication of a work under the Society’s direction, intended to give a general but comprehensive view of the whole range of botanical science, both as respects its natural and civil history, and commencing with the earliest period in each department (See 3rd Report Bot. Soc. Proceed. Appendix, p. 121). In July 1838, he read a paper on the mode of arranging the Society’s ~ 286 Obituary Notice of William Brand, Esq. Herbarium, and forming a catalogue of it. In Decem- ber of the same year, he read a communication on the statistics of British botany, intended to illustrate the plan proposed to be adopted in the formation of the Botanical Society’s British Herbarium; he there stated that 30,000 specimens were required to illustrate properly the flora of the British Islands in the Herbarium. In July 1839, he gave an explanation of his proposed scheme for the arrangement of the Society's General Herbarium. All these papers were illustrated by maps, and by printed tabular forms, pointing out the mode of forming various botanical districts, both in Great Britain and over the world. These tables, although printed, were never published; but they have always appeared to me to be worthy of the attention of students of geographical botany. In January 1840, he read a paper on the advantages of systematic arrangement in the formation of natural history collections in general. Mr Brand made a large collection of British plants, and formed a good herbarium. He dis- covered several rare and new plants in Scotland, notices of which he gave from time to time to the Botanical Society. During a trip to Clova with Dr Graham in August 1831, he discovered Astragalus alpinus on the famous cliff in Glen Dole. During the autumn of 1837, along with Dr Greville and myself, he made an excursion to the High- lands for three or four weeks, during which we visited Glen Isla, Clova, and Braemar. The specimens dried during the excursion amounted to upwards of 18,000, nearly all of which were given to the Botanical Society for the purpose of distribution. Mr Brand became Secretary of the Botanical Society Club, which met annually to com- memorate the first meeting of those who set the Society on foot. The original members of the club amounted to twelve; the number was afterwards increased to twenty-one. Mr Brand regularly attended the meetings, and kept a record of the proceedings. The last which he attended was held at Dr Lowe’s, Balgreen, in June 1869, On that occasion Mr Brand complained of illness, which he seems never to have got rid of. He will be much missed at these social gather- ings. After the illness in June and July, he became so much better as to be able to visit his relations at Peter- — Pe a ae Obituary Notice of William Brand, Esq. 287 head. But on his return home he had an attack of gastric derangement and fever, which proved too much for a con- stitution already exhausted and undermined by continuous and arduous attention to professional duties. He gradually became weaker until his death, on 15th October 1869. Mr Andrew Murray, Aberdeen, to whom I am indebted for a notice of Mr Brand’s early history, writes as follows:— “My acquaintance with Mr Brand began as soon as my nurse was able to carry me a few hundred yards beyond the door, and a more intimate and unbroken friendship never existed. We went our daily walks together to school, and separation in after life, in following out dif- ferent walks in the profession, led to a frequent corres- pondence, and our meetings were always as those of brothers. One of Mr Brand's school-fellows was the late Rey. John Milne of Perth. Many, with myself, have reason to regret his loss, as that of a friend whose counsel and judgment were highly valued, and never withheld when he was appealed to.” A friend contributes the following remarks :—‘‘ Mr Brand’s singular capacity for arrangement, his clear appre- hension, his ‘single eye,’ made the intercourse of business with him easy and pleasant. To those who required advice or assistance, his unfailing courtesy rendered him always accessible; and so universally was he respected and trusted, that in many cases of doubt Mr Brand’s opinion was held to settle them. While engaged in the weary business of the world, its cares never destroyed or soiled his free and buoyant temper, leaving him ready to enter into the frolics of the young, or to share the sorrows of the afflicted. In affairs connected with the improve- ment of Edinburgh and its philanthropic institutions, Mr Brand took a lively interest, as an instance of which it may be mentioned that the removal of the Infirmary to a better site occupied his thoughts many years ago, and formed the subject of a letter which he addressed to the newspapers. His tastes led him in early life to the study of botany and arboriculture, in the pursuit of which he became associated with many whose youtltful friendships continued to solace him to the end. Mr Brand was a warm and earnest member of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, 288 Obituary Notice of William Brand, Esq. and to all measures designed to promote its efficiency, he contributed not only of his means, but of his counsel and experience. With sympathies so wide, Mr Brand became a centre to a large circle of friends, and an object of general affection and trust, insomuch that his removal has by many of his friends been mourned as keenly as if the light of their own households had been quenched.” Mr Brand was married in 1848, and he leaves a widow, a son, and two daughters to mourn over his departure. Il. On Equations to the Curved Outlines of the Leaves of Plants. By Mr Witutam Mitcuett. (Plate III.) Some time ago I suggested a method of approximating the mean curves of leaves of plants,* intending to follow it up by a series of measurements, but more pressing matters came in the way. During last summer, however, I resumed the subject in my leisure hours, and thought I might try if anything could be made of the true outline, instead of the mean curve. Knowing something about the difficulties of measuring leaves, all I proposed was to find formulas to express the curves of their outlines so closely that the calculated values should not differ from those measured, more than the pro- portional measurements of several leaves of the same plant differ among themselves, by reason of their ordinary varia- tions. Having succeeded, to some extent, by the special application of a formula much used for the interpolation of terms wanting in a series, I would now crave leave to state my mode of procedure, and present a short list of results. Selecting a characteristic and well-developed leaf of any plant, I carefully trace its outline, when placed on card- board or stout paper; but when both sides appear to be equally developed, one-half the outline is sufficient. On this copy all the measurements are made. The point corresponding to the base of the midrib of the leaf is fixed on for the pole, or origin of measurement, and from it lines are drawn to the outline, making equal angles with each other. * See Transactions of the Botanical Society, Edinburgh, vol. vi. p. 2382. a ne ee ay On Curved Outlines of the Leaves of Plants. 289 These lines are then measured by a scale divided on the edge into tenths of an inch, and as the first line, or radius vector, is the longest, we have a descending series of terms from which to construct a formula for the curve in ques- tion. Now, if R represent any radius vector, 0 any angle cor- responding to it, and m the angle between each pair of measured radii, then the curve of one-half the leaf will be represented by 6g 6 \2 g\3 R=a+d2 +e(-) +a(-) + &e. m m m Here a is given, being the length of the midrib, which is the first radius corresponding to R, or 6 = 0°, and as three variable terms of the above formula give a sufficiently good approximation, the constants, b, c, d, are easily found. I shall, however, give the rule for determining four, namely, b, c, d, e, and it is very simple. Thus— eA, _ 2D, — 3D, or SN ame an De 5. 12D, — 12D, + 11D, 24 j and 6 = D—c —d—e, where D, D,, D,, D, are the Ist, 2d, 3d, and 4th first differences of those equi-distant terms of the series chosen for constructing the formula for a given leaf. Let the leaf of the common dock (wmex obtusi- Jolius) be taken as an example. The specimen before me measures’ 47, 38; 30; 23;18, 15, 12, 11; 10;°9).8)-7, 5, 2; 0} when taken at every 10°, and measured in tenths of an inch. If now I should take m = 10’, the formula sought would consist of too many terms, but, after a few trials, I find that a fair approximation is given by putting m = 40°, and the corresponding terms of the series are 47, 18, 10, 5, which, being treated according to the rule just given, we have— Hay ae tot). 3 (zy : In this formula, putting 6 = 0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, &., succes- 290 Mr W. Mitchell on Equations to the sively, o becomes 0, = sh 1, &., and calculating the foregoing series, we find 47, 37, 29, 22°7, 18, 14°8, 12:5, 11, 10, 9, 8:4, 7, 5, 2, 0. Here the approximation is not so close as it might be made, but is within the limits I have chosen ; for, taking another leaf of the same plant, and measuring its corresponding radii, I find them to be 47, 40, 32, 24, 19, 15,-13,°11, 10, 9, 8,7, 5,0, the length of 4 midrib happening to be the same as in the former case. Other leaves give similar small variations, and hence: I consider my formula a fair expression for the curve of the dock leaf. A leaf of Laurustinus measured in the same way, and taking m = 20, gives for its equation— = Bes Wale oe 35 ( Bee 03(55) = 20 a5) 20)? and the radii for angles of 10° are 34, 26-2, 20, 15, 11, 7-23, 5, 2°6, 0:2, 0, being nearly figure for figure with those actually measured, which are 34, 26, 20, 15, 11, 7, 5, 2, 0. For other examples, I refer to the list previously men- tioned. In constructing the curve by the given equation, one- half the leaf only is produced by giving consecutive values to 6, but the other half may be readily set off on the other side of the midrib, with the same radii correspondingly applied. All this applies only to simple undivided leaves, but by a little modification in the measurements, may be adapted to the more regularly divided, and to compound leaves. Thus, in the case of the divided leaf of the Maple (Acer Pseudo-Platanus), the radiating vein, or axis of each lobe, may be considered as the midrib of a single leaf, and a formula found for three out of the five. The intersections of these curves will then produce the outline of the simple divided leaf, when set off on five axes, making the normal angle of 45° with each other. ‘This angle often varies a few degrees, but 45° seems to be the rule. Equations to the leaves of plants may be put in the more simple and elegant form, R = ae —°°—a form of which a gentleman kindly reminded me, after he had seen the first Curved Outlines of the Leaves of Plants. ai AL part of this paper. The expansion of ae—°’® being a series of the same form as the series I have employed, we may apply the formula thus:—Let a denote the length of the midrib, e the base of the Napierian logarithms, = 2°71828, and if 7 represent any radius corresponding to a particular value of the angle 0, 6 may be found from the equation— log HS Serpe Oo Hf For example, the leaf of the Dock (Rumex obtusifolius) gives b>=0:0226, when 6=20° ; hence R = 47 e — 002268 is the equation to the leaf. For practical use the formula is— log. R = log a — log e x bd. Similarly, the equations to the leaves of Laurustinusis . . R=34e- 0270, Elder Tree (S. nigra), R = 53 e — 00768, iPormeal Daurel, -. R= 426 — °Cs?, [Ee RE ed a ae ae and Urtica dioica, . . R= 383 e- 01860, When the approximation does not come sufficiently close by this method, we can make it as near as we please, by taking successive values of 00, and forming a few terms of a series, in the manner already described. Thus we find— Laurus nobilis, . BR = 53 e — 00188 + 00006356)6, Gean Tree, . . R=8l e- (001055 + 0-000338)8, Lombardy Poplar, R = 25 e — (004967 — 0:0018150 + 000001851862) 6. Most leaves that I have measured do not require an expression so long as this last, but in no case is the calcu- lation difficult. 292 Mr W. Mitchell on Equations to the Since the length of the midrib, or a, affects only the size of the leaf, we may write a in the formulas instead of par- ticular numbers. For instance, it is sufficient to express the equation to any leaflet of the ash tree by— = — (0°0212 103 - R= ae ( 4 + 001036)0 . and in this way the equations to the lobes of divided leaves show their relations more clearly. Thus the leaf of Rubus nutkanus gives— R = ae -— 9018790, at 0°, R =(«-5) e — 901680 at 55°, R =(«-5) ¢- 001680, at 110°, R =(«-$) o- 00230, at 150°. Here we observe that the differences of the lengths of the middle veins of the lobes seem to follow the law of the plant series, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, &&., as they do in other cases I have before me. Then the values of 6, being nearly equal, we may take their average =0°01879, and make use of one equation instead of four, as— R SS 0°018790 applying (« _ 4 a _@ 5 : (« _— 3 > (« 9 4 instead of a for the other lobes. The normal angle may perhaps be taken = 55°. In the specimen I have selected for measurement @ 1s 45 tenths of an inch. By means of these formulas other properties of the curves of leaves may be deduced, but I must leave them for future leisure. In conclusion, it may be added that the figures illustrative of this paper are all constructed according to the formulas here given. eo Curved Outlines of the Leaves of Plants. 29 List or EQUATIONS TO THE CURVED OUTLINES OF LEAVES OF THE FOLLOWING PLANTS :— Ist, Simple Leaves not divided deeply at the Apex or Margin. Portugal es + 65 (3 i = (= au) Laurel, ee “ 20 6 Gean Tree, R = 31 — 8:16 55 era + 016 (55) - ey ee ree Beech, . R=27-9 45 15 (35) 4 05(35) eee, S20 71 eos (yon BY in 10. (0) (<0) Laurus- A ENS ee ONS ims} R=84—-17173, + 85(55) — 03 (55). Salix Ee EO elk er Me est ee One 4( 55) oo (=5) : Rumex f) 42 6 AG ae Rh = 47 458-195 (a0) 3 (a5) , folvus, 40 40 40 Lilac (Sy- i 4 fi) 2 6\3 ringa R= 438 — 22:34. + Tdl ( 7) —117 (30) . vulgaris), | 30 30 30 ? merr8 §\2 Lime Tree, R = 35 —9 157 0°5( 45) ’ cals Fe see =a -\) want) mgt] w=mnta gh) -09() sided, 40 40 40 right side leaf. R= 36-186 + 5:5 (qs) - 0-33 ()" ap PX 40 40)? left side. Populus vgra, }R= 80-1555, + 66(55) (20): TRANS. BOT. SOC. VOL. X, 294 Mr W. Mitchell on Equations to the 2d, Single Leaves divided at Apex or Margin. I B00 0-8 iis a) OG (2) Wo... fen ke = = To ate (ap =F (sy) ’ lobe Ist, at 0°. Be go Than + 3(q5) -03(45), ee oa at 85°. saree O\3 vas) ae R= 15-664, + 2(45) - 98(45): lobe 3d, at 130°. Maple, . R=46-105 4 2(z): lobe Ist. 3 R = 43— Ee re 2(q5) + 05 (45) ’ lobes 2d and 5th. 6 6? 6% lobes 3d and 4th. Ladies’ Mantle, r) 20 a 10 | The angle between j the lobes is 45°. 10 = 10 Compound Leaf. Horse es ae 16 el. YO aa cHcte, | B= 69-15 bay + 1 5(+5) = 8(a5)> lst or terminal leaflet. 6 AY fel hes 62 R = 64-2055 + 18(45) -~6(35), 2d and 7th leaflets. eS eS Normal angle between lobes is 45° Curved Outlines of the Leaves of Plants. 295 Horse Chestnut, » R = 60 — 15°5 et 13° (i) - 5(u)> continued. 3d and 6th leaflets. Pome tO i) _ 983 (Go) Se iO “AGO 10)’ 4th leaflet. eee eee | Md pe Ses, 100 (=5) ee (aoe 5th leaflet. Explanation of Plate III. Fig. 1. This figure is constructed, as all the others, from the formulas cor- responding to them in the list given at the end of my paper, but the general formulas are given here. Thus for R. obtusifolius— R = ae— 0702260. Fig. 2. R= ae — (002 + 000068)0. Fig. 8. R= ae — 00270. Fig. 4. R= ae- 05 - 00180 + 000001862) @, but constructed from R= 25 - 9327.5 + 1-16(2)" + 1583 (5) - 0-416 (e)* Pies. i = ae (0011 + 0°000246)6, m6. = ae— 0013550, fe, R= ae— (0:02124 + 0:001036) 0, Fig. 8. R= ae — 0120 for one side. R = ae — 99158 foy the other. « , Fig. 9. R= ae - 9026 for terminal lobe. The same equation serves for the other lobes, by substituting (gore Sas and (a — 2) respectively for a. In the figure, the angle between the lobes is 45°, but is often variable in nature. Fig. 10. R = ae- 26 for terminal lobe. For the other two put (« - ‘) and (a - ) respectively. The angle between the lobes is very variable, but the normal angle seems to be 60°. The radii drawn in the figures indicate the mode of measurement. 296 Dr Lauder Lindsay on the III. Supplementary Notes on the Lichen-Flora of Greenland. By W. Lauper Linpsay, M.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S. Since the publication of my catalogue of the Lichens of Greenland in the last Part of the Society's Transactions,* my friend Robert Brown, F.R.G.S., has pointed out to me, that in the said catalogue I have omitted all reference to a list of the lichens of Greenland, published in 1830 by the Chevalier Sir Charles Louis Giesecké of Dublin; + and Mr Brown has further done me the favour of making and sending me a copy of the said list, adding to it a short biography of Giesecké, which is both of use and interest as bearing on the circumstances of all his collections of Green- land plants, including the lichens. My omission arose from my ignorance, at the time, of the existence of such a list, and my too implicit trust in Th. Fries’ ‘ Lichenes Arctoi” as a compendium of-all lists of Greenland Lichens up to 1860.t But, inasmuch as my catalogue cannot be considered complete without reference to, or imcorporation of, so prominent a list as that of Giesecké, and in so far, further, as it appears desirable to render my catalogue as complete as may be up to the present date,§ I now hasten to supply my omission by quoting Giesecké’s list, adding my own comments thereto—comments which are mainly directed to an attempt to discover the modern synonymy of his species. Apart altogether from the subject of Green- land and its lichen-flora, Giesecké’s list enables me to indicate the comparatively little value that can be attached to the earlier lists of lichen-species belonging to the Pre- Microscope era of Lichenology, especially where the name of the authority for, or nomenclator of, the said species is not given; as well as the extreme, and sometimes insuper- able, difficulty of ascertaining their modern synonyms or equivalents. * Vol. x. (1869), p. 32. + Inanarticleon “Greenland,” in “ Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopedia,” vol. x. (1830), pp. 495-6. t Vide page 32 of my former paper. 2 Personal inquiries made quite recently (in October 1869) in Denmark, by Mr Brown, show that the Catalogue in question is the only separate list extant of the Lichens of Greenland Lichen-Flora of Greenland. 297 I am indebted to Mr Brown for the following informa- tion regarding Giesecké—his Greenland collections, and his list of Greenland lichens. ‘‘ He was born in 1761, at Augsburg, and after a rather adventurous life, studied under Werner, and settled down at Vienna as a dealer in minerals. Eventually entering the service of Denmark, he repaired to Greenland, and made large collections of minerals and minor ones of plants. Afraid of his collection being captured (for we were then at war with Demark), he went over the ground a second time, and made a duplicate set. His fears were realised, for the vessel containing his first collection was captured by the English cruisers, and the collection sold for a mere trifle at Leith. It was bought by Mr Thomas Allan, who found in it Sodalite, Allanite, Cryolite, &. In the meantime, Giesecké, who had been delayed, by communication being temporarily cut off with Greenland, arrived in Leith; and with great good nature assisted in arranging his confused collection, which was of immense extent. I have been informed by Dr Hoff, assis- tant in the Mineralogical Museum of Copenhagen, who has himself visited Greenland, that though Allan supplied out of Giesecké’s cabinet many of the mineralogical collections of the day, yet he always understood that Giesecké pur- chased back from Allan a great portion of his own collection. Following the Duke of Marlborough’s maxim of ‘ quartering himself on the enemy,” he settled down as Professor of Mineralogy to the Royal Dublin Society, where he remained till his death, in March 1833. The old energy had, how- ever, evaporated by that time, and beyond a few papers on mineralogy and geography,* and the article referred to,+ he published nothing. He left a voluminous journal, which is now in Copenhagen, and a copy in Dublin (written in German). But his collections, in a chaos of non-assortment, are still ‘lying in Dublin... . . . His collection was so rich in duplicates, that sub-collections from him are in’ the British Museum, and Copenhagen and other museums ; but most of his plants are in the British Museum, or (I believe) in the Museum of the University of Dublin, or * Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. ix. p. 263 ; Appendix to Scoresby’s “ Voyage to Greenland,” &e. + Vide foot-note, + page 284. 298 Dr Lauder Lindsay on the the Royal Dublin Society. ..... He was a knight- commander of Dannebrog; hence the knightly prefix by which he was known.” His list of Greenland plants con- tains, says Mr Brown, anumber of errors. ‘“‘ Giesecké must then have been a man nearly seventy, and as he was latterly in bad health, and always rather lazy, the errors may be understood.” The species in his list of Greenland lichens, Mr Brown adds, ‘‘appear to have been determined by Dr Taylor of Dublin,* though it is not so expressly stated.” Giesecké’s List of Greenland Lichens, with their (approxi- mate, probable, or) modern Synonymy. — . Lecidea sanguinariat Doubtless of Linnzus and subsequent authors. Does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (Lich. Arctoi, p. 223). . L. fusco-lutea. Doubtless of Acharius, Scherer, and Hooker= Lopadium, Mudd, Brit. Lich., p. 190, and Lecanora, Dicks., of my catalogue. 3. L. pustulata. Probably Umbilicaria pustulata, Hffm., which, however, does not occur in Arctic countries, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 168). Most likely the plant so named is U. Pennsylvanica, Hffm., of my catalogue. . Lepraria botryoides. Doubtless of Acharius; English Botany, p- 41, t. 1973 $= L. viridis, T. and B. ; a Protophyte of the genus Protococcus (= P. viridis, Kiitz., Hepp No. 233, = Chlorococeum vulgare, Grev., in Kew Herbarium). 5. L. Iolithus. Doubtless also of Acharius ; Engl. Bot. p. 42, t. 1978; another Protophyte of the genus Protococcus. 3. Gyrophora hyperborea = Lichen proboscideus, L. Either Um- bilicuria hyperborea, Ach., or U. proboscidea, L., of my catalogue. They are given as separate species by Mudd, Brit. Lich., pp. 117 and 118. 7. G. erosa. No doubt Umbil. erosa, Web., of my catalogue. 8. G. cylindrica. No doubt Umbil. cylindrica, L., of my cata- logue. 9. G. hirsuta. No doubt Umbil. hirsuta, Ach., of my catalogue. bo c= * Author of vol. ii. of the ‘ Flora Hibernica,’ which includes the Musci, Hepatice, and Lichens. + These names are given as published by Giesecké, and copied by Brown. It will be observed that in no case is the author of the specific name men- tioned ! + All quotations from the “English Botany” of Smith and Sowerby are from the second edition (1844), vols. x. and xi. Lichen-Flora of Greenland. 299 10. Endocarpon tephroides. No doubt of Acharius = Dermato- carpon cinereum, Pers., and Endocarpon cinereum, Mudd, Brit. Lich., p. 268. Does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 256). 11. Lsidium defraudans. Probably of Acharius = Lecanora poliopheea, Ach. and Whinb. Does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 114). 12. Urceolaria calearea. No doubt Lecanora calcarea, L., of my catalogue. 13. Parmelia tartarea, No doubt Lecanora tartarea, L., of my list. 14. P. candelaria. Probably Physcia candelaria, Ach., which, however, is not at all mentioned in Th. Fries’ “ Lich. Arctoi.” 15. P. brunnea. No doubt Pannaria brunnea, Sw., of my list. 16. P. subfusca. No doubt Lecanora subfusca, L., of my list. 17. P. gelida. No doubt Squamaria gelida, L., of my list. 18. P. stellaris. No doubt Physcia stellaris, L., of my list. 19. P. saxatilis. Doubtless of Linnzus and subsequent authors in my list. 20. P. omphalodes. Doubtless of Linnzus, a variety of the fore- going in my list. 21. P. parietina. Doubtless of Linnzus, which, however, is not at all mentioned in Th. Fries’ “ Lich. Arctoi.” 22. P. fraxinea. Doubtless of Linneus; a variety of Ramalina calicaris, L, Does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 32). 23. P. farinacea. Doubtless of Linnzeus; also a variety of R. calicaris ; but not occurring in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 32). 24. P. jubata. No doubt of Linneus ; Alectoria jubata, L., of my list. 25. P. capillaris. No such lichen is mentioned in any licheno- logical work in my library. It cannot refer to Ephebe pubescens, Parmelia lanata, or Alectoria jubata, each of which is separately mentioned. I cannot even guess at its proper modern synonymy ! 26. P. nigrescens. Doubtless Collema nigrescens, L., which does not, however, occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 281). 27. P. ciliaris. No doubt Physcia ciliaris, L., which, however, is not at all mentioned in Th. Fries’ “ Lich. Arctoi.” 28. P. ochroleuca. No doubt Alectoria ochroleuca, Ehrh., of my catalogue. 29. Peltidea horizontalis.* No doubt Peltigera* horizontalis, L., * There is great confusion created by the use of the generic terms Peltidea and Peltigera. Hitherto they have been used synonymously. But Nylander 300 Dr Lauder Lindsay on the which, however, does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 47). 30. P. venosa.* No doubt of Linneus and my list. 31. P. resupinata. May be Nephroma resupinatum of Hooker, Taylor, and Leighton, which = N. lewvigatum, Ach., of Mudd’s “ Brit. Lich.,” p. 81; or WV. resupinatum, Ach., which = N. tomentosum, Hffm., of Nylander’s “ Synopsis,” p. 319. There is great confusion in the synonymy of NV. levigatum, Ach., and NV. tomentosum, Hffm., if they are really separate species. JV. tomentoswm does not occur in Greenland, accord- ing to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 41) ; while NV. levigatum appears = his NV. papyraceum, Hffm., which occurs in my catalogue. 32. P.canina. Doubtless Peltigera canina, Hffm., of my list. 33. P. saccata. No doubt Solorina saccata, L., of my list. 34. P. crocea. No doubt Solorina crocea, L., of my list. 35. Cetraria Islandica. No doubt of Linneus and my list. 36. C. Groenlandica (vars. nigra and viridis). May be Lichen Groenlandicus of the “Flora Danica,’ t. 466, which = Nephroma arcticum, L., of my list. 37. C. nivalis. No doubt of Linneus and my list. 38. C. pulmonaria.F No doubt Sticta pulmonaria, L.,+ which does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p- 49). 39. C. juniperina. No doubt of Linneus and my list. 40. Cornicularia lanata. No doubt Parmelia lanata, L., of my list. 41. C. tristis, No doubt Parmelia tristis, Web., which, however, does not occur in Greenland, according to Th. Fries (L. Arct., p. 30). 42. C. pubescens. No doubt Ephebe pubescens, L., of my list. 43. Stereocaulon paschale. No doubt of Linnzus and my list. 44. S. globulare. May be Lichen globularis, Retz., which = Cali- cium furfuraceum, L., of my list. employs them to distinguish separate genera—the first established specially for P. venosa and aphthosa: the second including all the other British species. In aletter to me, of date February 1866, Nylander writes—“ Si vous avez, dans le travail que vous vous proposez, & nommer le Peltigera venosa, il faudrait lappeler Peltidea venosa, Ach., car je le rapporte maintenant ainsi que l’aph- thosa au genre Peltidea, qui différe par ses gonidies (qui rendent leur thalle a l'état humide d’un beau vert) des Peltigera, dont le thalle a l’état humide devient foncé.” In his “Synopsis” and other works, moreover, he uses the term Peltigeret for the tribe, and Peltédez for the subtribe! t+ Much confusion is created by the use of the specific names pulmonaria and pulmonacea, which are synonymous. One of them ought to be abolished. Pulmonaria has the claim of priority, having been used by Linnezeus, Hoffmann, Scherer, and others; while Nylander, in his “Synopsis,” adopts Acharius’s name, pulmonaced. Lichen-Flora of Greenland. 301 45. Beomices cocciferus. Doubtless Cladonia coccifera, L., which is = variety of C. cornucopioides, L., of my list. 46. B. pyxidatus. No doubt Cl. pyxidata, L., of my list. 47. B. cornucopioides. Doubtless Cl. cornucopioides of Linneeus and my list. 48. B. fimbriatus. Doubtless Cl. fimbriata of Hoffmann and my list. 49. B. gracilis. Doubtless Cl. gracilis of Linneeus and my list. 50. B. digitatus. Doubtless Cl. digitata, L., and my list. 51. B. radiatus.* Probably Lichen radiatus, Schreb. (Engl. Bot. t. 2288), which = Cl. radiata, Ach., of the “ Flora Hiber- nica,” and = a variety of Cl. fimbriata, Hffm., of my list. 52. B. cristatus. Doubtless Cl. cristata, Hffm., which = Cl. degen- erans, Fllk., of my list. 53. B. foliaceus. Probably Lichen foliaceus, Huds., which = Cl. alcicornis, Flk., of my list. The latter is not mentioned at all in Th. Fries’ “ Lich. Arctoi.” 54. B. rangiferinus. No doubt Cl. rangiferina, L., of my list. 55. B. uncialis. No doubt Cl. uncialis, L., of my list. 06. B. subulatus. No doubt Cl. subulata, L., which is = variety of Cl. furcata, Schreb., of my list. 57. B. fragilis ( = coralloides fragile, Hffm.) No doubt Sphero- phoron fragile, L., of my list. An analysis of the foregoing list of Giesecké’s, and its modern synonymy, brings out the following peculiarities :— I. In one case at least, Parmelia capillaris, the modern synonymy is indeterminable.t Il. In four cases this synonymy is doubtfully deter- minable, viz., in Gyrophora hyperborea. Cetraria Groenlandica. Peltidea resupinata. Stereocaulon globulare. III. At least two species are Alge or Protophyta, be- longing to the genus Protococcus, or some of its allies or subdivisions,—viz., the two supposed species of the now obsolete genus Lepraria. ITV. One species is an obvious error, according to Th. Fries’ “ Lich. Arctoi,” viz. :— Lecidea pustulata. * 'This lichen is enumerated ¢wice, probably by an overlook either of printer or author. + A similar apparently indeterminable species is Cladonia glacialisof Brown’s “Florula Discoana” (Trans. Botan. Soc. of Edin., vol. ix. p. 448). It is, however, I am informed by him, a misprint for Cladonia gracilis, L. 302 Dr Lauder Lindsay on the VY. Four other species do not occur in the wide range of Th. Fries’ ‘ Lichenes Arctoi,” which includes the whole of Northern Scandinavia and Russia (Nordland, Finmark, Lapland, and the Samoyede country), Iceland, Greenland, and the Spitzbergen group of islands, viz. :— Parmelia candelaria. Parmelia parietina. ciliaris. | Boeomices foliaceus. VI. Others, though met with in some parts of the region of Th. Fries’ “ Lich. Arctoi,” do not, according to him, occur in Greenland, viz. :— Lecidea sanguinaria. Parmelia nigrescens. Endocarpon tephroides. Peltidea horizontalis. Isidium defraudans. Cetraria pulmonaria. Parmelia fraxinea. Cornicularia tristis. farinacea. The last two classes may be regarded either as errors of Giesecké and Taylor, or as omissions of Th. Fries, who does not, like myself, appear to have been acquainted with Gieseckeé’s list, seeing that the lst in question is nowhere mentioned in his “ Lichenes Arctoi.” There are reasons both for and against adding the species in question to my catalogue. The arguments jor such addition are that we are bound to believe—till the contrary can be proved—that they were collected by Giesecké, and properly determined by Taylor, while they have been inadvertently omitted both by Th. Fries and myself. The arguments, on the other hand, that lead to hesitancy in incorporating such lichens in the Greenland flora are, that they have been omitted by Th. Fries—an accurate and laborious lichenologist—ex- perienced in the use of the microscope, and presumably well acquainted with all authentic collections or lists of Greenland Lichens up to the date of publication of his “ Lich. Arctoi” (1860) ; and that all lists of lichens drawn up without microscopical examination are, as a rule, little trustworthy.* The latter objection, however, does not hold good as regards species that are easily determinable by the naked eye, such as Physcia ciliaris, P. partetina, Cladonia alcicornis, Ramalina calicaris, Peltigera horizontalis, Sticta * This proposition has already been sufficiently illustrated in my former paper by the analyses of the lists of James (p. 34), and of Hooker and Brown (pp. 47, 49, 51). Lichen-Flora of Greenland. 3038 pulmonaria, or Parmelia tristis, HKven if we add to my catalogue the omissions of Th. Fries and myself recorded by Giesecké and Taylor, the total number is increased only by thirteen species and varieties—the aggregate amount- ing to 281 species, including varieties, VII. The remainder of Giesecké’s lichens, consisting of thirty-six species and varieties, have already been recorded in my catalogue. The total number of lichens collected and recorded by Giesecké is only fifty-seven, while the number enumerated in my catalogue was 268, or nearly five times as many. The difference between these figures may be held as repre- senting the progress that has taken place in the collection and determination of the lichens of Greenland during the last forty years. Referring to my comparison of the Lichen-Floras of Greenland and Iceland,* Mr Brown very naturally objects that the two countries or islands are not pruperly com- parable. ‘“‘ The whole znterior of Greenland,” says he, ‘so far as known, is overlaid with an immense glacial <2) The easé coast is almost entirely wnexplored and, on account of ice, unexplorable; and the interior a frozen icy waste..... You may almost take it for granted that all the lichen collections made in Greenland were made not far from the sea-level,” and I may add on the west coast, and even within a limited area of 7. Of all this I am fully aware, and I have not attempted to institute any rigid comparison either between the countries in question or their flora. But I believe the extent to which Iceland also is desert, and unexplored, or unexplorable, is not suffi- ciently borne in mind. An intelligent American traveller, who visited the greater part of Iceland in 18538, thus writes on this point :} “ If you look on Gunnlaugsson’s large map of Iceland—a map made from surveys, and extending over Iceland for twelve years—it will be seen that the green or agricultural portion is not more than one-third of it, and about one-half of the remainder .... is a pink colour, in- dicating the growth of heath; and the balance is snowy * In my former paper, pp. 39 and 52. ft “ Nordurfari ; or, Rambles in Iceland,” by Pliny Miles. London, 1854, p. 158, 304 Dr Lauder Lindsay on the mountains, sandy deserts, and black and barren lava.” The glaciers of Greenland are in Iceland replaced, to a great extent at least, either by lava or volcanic sand, forming deserts which, if we may credit the testimony of travellers, are devoid even of cryptogamic vegetation.* This sand, which includes pumice and ash, is sometimes one or two feet thick on the plains, and even four to six feet in the mountain valleys. ‘The melancholy appearance of these districts has occasioned them to be called by the natives Hraun or Hréin,—a word meaning ruin or annihilation.” In 1861 the then vice-president of the Alpine Club (Wm. Longman) published ‘‘ Suggestions for the Haploration of Iceland,” accompanied with a tinted map, showing the dis- tricts yet wnexplored, and the area occupied by jokulst (glacier or ice-covered mountains). The combined area occupied by lava, volcanic sand, snow, and ice, is nearly one- half of the whole island !§ Again, Mr Brown, in some degree, objects to the spell- ing of the names of localities in Greenland, given at page 32 of my catalogue. The truth is, however, that the utmost diversity prevails among travellers and writers regarding the spelling of Hsquimo names, and even of the word Esquimo or Eskimo itself (= Esquimaux, &c.) The names in question were all cited from Th. Fries’ “ Lichenes Arctoi,” and he doubtless copied the orthography of Danish botanists. I have therefore preferred to give his ortho- graphy unchanged. Whether it is right or wrong, accord- ing to current opinion, is of no consequence to the subject or object I have presently in view,—the lichens of Green- land as a country. Neither are the precise latitude and * Compare what I have said on this head at page 36 of my former paper. } Edinburgh Cabinet Library volume on ‘Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.”” Edin., 1840. P. 359. { The unexplored—and perhaps unexplorable—area of the Vatna or Klofa jokul alone amounts to about 400 square miles! (Véde Edin. Cab. Lib. vol., foot-note * p. 41). Of the whole area of 38,000 square miles, it has been cal- culated that not above one-eighth is occupied, the remainder (= 33,000 square miles) consisting of jokuls, or of plains and valleys desolated by lava or other voleanic ejecta. It is to be observed, however, that the estimates of the harren area given by different authors differ remarkably—depending, no doubt, mainly on their different ideas of barrenness ! 2 Vide a definition of the term in my paper on the Kodtlugja volcano, Ice- Jand. ‘ Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal,” January 1861, p. 3. Lichen-Flora of Greenland. 305 longitude material for present purposes. While, therefore, I am indebted to my friend Mr Brown for the trouble he has taken to set me right in various matters of detail, the matters in question do not appear—as not bearing directly on our present subject—to require further notice here.* My catalogue contains a few trivial typographical errors, of which it may suffice to point out that an asterisk should have been prefixed to the following species, indicating that they occurred in Mr Brown’s collection :—— Lecidea Friesiana and contigua. Verrucaria tartaricola. Lecanora tartarea v. vermicularia. Lecanora leucorcea is erroneously entered twice, the second time under Lecidea. IV. Dr Gray's Arrangement of the Hepatice. By Bens. Carrineton, M.D. “Seemann’s Journal of Botany” (1865) contained an article of great interest by Mr Carruthers, claiming priority for the classification of the Hepaticee proposed in ‘ Gray’s Natural Arrangement of British Plants” (1821). The fate of this work—the first attempt to apply the natural system to British plants—was most unfortunate. Few copies appear to have been sold, and virtually it fell still-born from the press, and has been overlooked alike by British and foreign botanists. Yet it deserved a different fate. The introductory chapters are especially good—containing a lucid epitome of botanical history, a chronological list of authors and * Thus he points out that—(1.) There are several places of the same name in different parts of Greenland, e.g., Upernivik, Amitoarsuk, Isortok. (2.) There is a small patch of Cretaceous strata on the shores of the Waigat. (3.) Crantz’s “ History of Greenland” is a translation from the German of the original work publishedin 1769. (4.) Hélboll, as well as Rink and Worm- skiold, made lichen collections in Greenland. ' (5.) Several of the places men- tioned by Th. Fries—such as Kukiarsuk—are unknown to, or are not mentioned by, Rink in his “Grénland Geographisk og Statistik.” (6.) Other names are synonyms, ¢.g., Sydostbugten (= Anglicé “South-East Bay),” which is merely the southern portion of Disco Bay. (7.) Upernivik is the most northern Danish ‘“ Colonie’’—in lat. 72° 48’. (8.) Sir James Clarke Ross did visit Spitzbergen when a lieutenant with Parry. 306 Dr B. Carrington on Dr Gray’s their works, and a copious glossary of botanical terms, This portion of the work was compiled by Mr 8. F. Gray, whose name alone appears on the title page. But we are indebted for the systematic and descriptive portions to his son, Dr J. E. Gray, the now celebrated Director of the Zoological Department of the British Museum. The cryptogamic plants occupy 550 closely-printed pages of the first volume. But our remarks must be limited to a consideration of the new genera of Hepatic proposed by Dr Gray. In our day, when men of science are supposed to be liberal, and truthful, and charitable in their dealings with each other, it seems incredible that a costly and laborious work should have been sacrificed to the prejudices of a botanical clique. And yet such was the truth. Gray’s book was looked upon as “coming from Salisbury, who was full of all kinds of crochets, and had during many years made himself as unpleasant as possible to Robert Brown, Sir J. HE. Smith, and other members of the Linnean Society.” The follow ing illustration of these quarrels I quote from the letter of a friend :*—“ I came upon another instance the other day. Salisbury published a plate and proper description of a Tiliaceous plant, under the name of Hookeria. A/fter this Smith described the same plant as Brodica, and named a genus of mosses Hookeria !” Another story is told by De Candolle. During a friendly interval, Sir J. E. Smith dedicated a genus of plants to Salisbury, and the latter returned the compliment. But the truce was of short duration; they fell out again, and each wrote an urgent request to De Candolle that he would suppress these genera. This he declined to do, replying “that the genera were good ones, and he should make it a point to retain them, inasmuch as the compliment, in either case, was so well deserved !” We must not forget that those were times of great political excitement. The year 1821, when Gray’s work appeared, was the year of Napoleon’s death ; and the legacy of debt, and suffering, and wrong, bequeathed by a genera- tion of warfare,.was not soon to be forgotten. * J. G. Baker, Esq., F.L.S. Arrangement of the Hepatice. 307 This feeling extended even to scientific truths, and the natural system, which was conceived in the stormy epoch of the French Revolution, was looked upon as a product of Atheism and Jacobinism—stamped with the mark of the Beast. Fortunately, these prejudices are now forgotten, and Mr Carruthers deserves the thanks of English botanists for enabling them to rectify an act of injustice. If we are unable to accept many of these genera, it is simply because they had been pre-occupied by earlier botanists. Fifty years ago priority of nomenclature was a matter of much less consideration than in our time. Thus, about the time when Gray’s work appeared, two other botanists pub- lished arrangements of the Hepaticae—Raddi (1820), and Dumortier (1822). Singularly enough, each seems to have been ignorant of the work of the other. Subsequent writers have shown scarcely more regard for the labours of their predecessors, so that the genus Jungermannia, which Hooker (1816) left intact—a little oasis unknown to syno- nyms—is now obscured and defaced by them past recogni- tion. Dr Gottsche (Hedwigia, 1866, pp. 11-14) not unnaturally objects to the proposed changes, on the ground that the nomenclature of Nees ab LHsenbeck, and the Synopsis Hepaticarum, has now been accepted for more than thirty years, and ought not to be disturbed, because an earlier arrangement is disinterred from some obscure publication. But a work published in two thick octavo volumes, and by an author still living, cannot be called obscure. Nor do we think that, upon reconsideration, Dr Gottsche will oppose the modified restitution we now advocate. Already Professor Lindberg has restored the genus Pal- lavicinia in place of Blyttia. Another objection has been offered to Dr Gray’s nomen- clature ; we allude to the masculine terminology of the genera, which renders them rough and uncouth to our ears, accustomed to the softer feminine. Who, for example, would substitute Hookerius for Hookeria, or Linneus for Linnea ? In the following list the new genera proposed by Gray 308 Dr B. Carrington on Dr Gray’s are first quoted; secondly, the equivalent terms now in use ; and, lastly, the works of writers on general botany who have anticipated Gray’s names. While engaged on this list, I have been greatly indebted to critical remarks contained in letters from Professor Lindberg, of Helsingfors, one of the most gifted students of the cryptogamia of our time :— Staurophora (1821)= Lunularia. Micheli, 1729! Cyathophora . = Preissia. Corda, 1829. (Cyathophorum, a genus of mosses, P. Beauv. Prod. pp. 33-52, 1805!) Stozzius . . = Reboulia et Fegatella. Raddi, 1818. (Reboulia = Asterella. P. Beauv. Lam. Exc. Meth. Bot. 1810!) Maurocenius . = Fossombronia. Raddi, 1820! Pandulphinius . = Lejeunia. Libert. 1820! Cavendishia . = Porella (Dill), L. 1741! = Madotheea. Dumort. 1822. Scalius. . = Haplomitrium. N. ab E. 1833. (Scalia, Sims, Synanthere, Bot. Mag. xxiv. 1806 !) Cesius. . = Gymnomitrium. Corda, 1828. (Cesia, R. Br. Prod. Fl. N. Holl. Liliacez, 1810 !) Sendtnera. Endl. 1842=Schisma. Dumort. 1822. (Herbertia, Swert. Liliacez, 1829.) *Pallavicinus . = Blyttia. Endl. 1840. *Herbertus Kantia . = Calypogeia. Raddi, 1820! Lippius. . = Sareogyna. Dumort, 1822. (Lippia, Houst. (Verbenacee), L. Syst. Nat. 1735 !) *Marchesinius . = Phragmicoma. Dumort. 1822. (Is there any valid distinction between this and Lejewnia?) *Martinellius . = (now divided into Radula. Dumort. 1822. Scapania et Plagischila, 1831.) Candollea, Raddi, 1820—but preoccupied by Labe- rellardi for a genus of Dilleniacez, 1806! *Mylius . . = Jung. polyanthus, Chiloscyphus Corda, Jung. cuneifolia! and J. Taylori, placed by Mitten in Leioscyphus, Fl. Nov. Zeal., 1847. Mylius must replace the latter genus. 2 Nardius . . = Alicularia. Corda, 1830 (= Mesophylla, Dum. Com. 1823 !) et Sarcoscyphus, Corda, 1830. Too much like Nardus, L. Syst Nat. n. 75, Graminee, 1735! Otherwise it might be adopted with advantage, since Alicularia bears the same relation to Sar- coscyphus, which the round-leaved Junger- peek ee, Oe rater Arrangement of the Hepatice. 309 manniz bear to the emarginate ones. Again, the distinction between Sarcoscyphus and Gymnomitrium is quite arbitrary. *Bazzanius . = Mastigobryum. Syn. Hep. 1844. Papa ; . = FPellia. Raddi, 1820! Riccardius . = Aneura. Dumort. 1823. (Richardia, Houst. Lam. G. Pl. 1737! (Rubiaceze)— Richard- sonia, Kunth = (Richardia, L.) Ann. Mus. Par. lv. p. 439; Pat. Browne, Nov. Gen. Anur. iii. p. 350, 1818.) Herverus . . == Metzgeria. Raddi, 1820! Salviatus . . = Frullania. Raddi, 1820! So that of the twenty-one genera introduced by Dr Gray, the following alone can be retained :—AHerbertia = Sendt- neria ; Pallavicina = Blyttia ; Marchesinia = Phragmicoma ; Bazzania = Mastigobryum; WMartinellia = Radula; (per- haps) Nardia = Alicularia and Sarcoscyphus ; and Mylius = Leioscyphus, Mitt. IV. Wiscellaneous Communications. Professor Dickson, Glasgow, made some remarks regard- ing the formation of the fruit of Hippophea rhamnoides, and exhibited preserved specimens. He stated that Mr Sadler and he had paid a visit to Tynninghame last month, where they found the plant fruiting in the greatest profusion on the shore. Dr Dickson also exhibited a flower of Tvopceolum (Indian cress) having two spurs. Mr Gorrie exhibited cones of Picea cephalonica and Cupressus Lambertiana, produced at St Fort, Fifeshire. Duncan Forbes, Esq., presented cones of Picea cepha- lonica, taken from a tree at Culloden House, 15 feet 8 inches high. Mr Fowler, gardener, Castle Kennedy, sent cones of Picea Pindrow, P. Webbiana, and Abies orientalis, produced there. Mr Bisset presented cones of Picea cephalonica, produced at Moncrieffe, Perthshire. Mr M‘Nab exhibited cones of Picea Nordmanniana, from the Cambridge Botanic Garden. Professor Christison presented the fruit of a species of TRANS. BOT. SOC. VOL, X. x 310 Miscellaneous Communications. Strophanthus, which yields an arrow poison used by the African natives on the Shire. Donations to the Herbarium were announced from Mrs Millar, plants from the Cape of Good Hope; Dr James Cox, Australian plants; Mr D. L. Beckingsale, rare English plants; Mr Sim, plants naturalised on the banks of Tay; Rev. Thos. Bell, specimens of Drosera longifolia, collected on Benhar Moor, near Whitburn. 9th December 1869.—Sir Water Exxior, President, in the Chair. The following Gentlemen were elected Office-Bearers for 1869-70 :— President. Sir Waurter Extiot, K.8.I. Vice-Presidents. ALEXANDER BucHan. Hueu Criecuory, M.D. CHARLES JENNER. Rosert Brown. Council. JAMES M‘Nas. JoHN BALLANTYNE, Jun. Professor ARCHER. Rosert Scot-SKIRVING. WILLIAM GoRRIE. Is, ANDERSON-HEnNRY. Professor Dickson. THomas Harper, M.D. Tuos. A. G. Batrour, M.D. JouN RvussELL. Honorary Secretary, . .-. Professor BALFour. Honorary Curator,. . . . The Proressor or Botany. Foreign Secretary, . . . . Professor Macnacan. Treasurer, . . . . . . » Pavrick Nur Frassr. Adetorys «sey | s(ee.' es | x! Y Geornen' Topp: PAT TStas jac) \etrcles . . Net STewart. Vice-Secretary and Curator, . JoHN SADLER. Local Secretaries. WitirAm CARRUTHERS, British Museum, London, W.C. ALEXANDER Dickson, M.D., Professor of Botany, Glasgow. Georer Dicktz, M.D., Professor of Botany, Aberdeen. Puitie W. Macraaan, M.D., Berwick. Cuartes CO. Basinaton, Professor of Botany, Cambridge. Tomas Suapter, M.D., Exeter. James Giucurist, M.D., Dumfries. Wituiam Keppirz, 5 India Street, Glasgow. ST ee Se eee ee eee, List of Office-Bearers. 311 JosePH Dickson, M.D., St Helier’s, Jersey. Bensamin Carrineton, M.D., Eccles, Manchester. Wittiam ALEx. Stasies, Cawdor Castle, Nairn. Epwarp Cuaruron, M.D., Newcastle. Joun Lowe, M.D., King’s Lynn, Norfolk. F. Bucuanan Wuitt, M.D., Perth. Rey. W. A. Lercuton, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Joun Kir, M.D., Zanzibar, Africa. FERDINAND von Mve ter, M.D., Ph.D., Melbourne, Australia. Tomas Anperson, M.D., Calcutta. W. H. Campsety, LL.D., Georgetown, Demerara. ALEXANDER Hunter, M.D., Madras. GrorcE Lawson, LL.D., Ph.D., Dalhousie College, Nova Scotia. R. J. SuurrLewortH, Berne, Switzerland. The Treasurer submitted a report on the state of accounts for the past session, aud on the present financial condition of the Society. The following Gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society :— 1. Foreign Honorary Fellows. Cart NAEGELI, Ph.D., Professor of Botany, Munich. N. PrincGsHEIM, Ph.D., Professor of Botany, Jena. Cart Kocu, Ph.D., Professor of Botany, Berlin. 2. Resident Fellows. JAMES Cox, Clement’s Park, Dundee. JOHN Garr, Falkirk. ALEXANDER ROBERTSON, 29 Dick Place. Joun S. Cowan, 20 Cumberland Street. JoHn Epwarp SuHaAvw, 4 Bellevue Terrace. Davip MircHEtL, Nursery and Seedsman. 8. Non-Resident Fellows. J. F. Duruie, Sutton Court, Pensford, Bristol. W.A.T. Dick, Keith House, East Lothian. 4. Foreign and Corresponding Members. Jutius Sacus, Ph.D., Professor of Botany, Freiburg. H. N. BotanveEr, Botanist to the Geological Survey of California. Don GuinirerMo JAMESON, San Juan, formerly Professor of Botany, Quito. A. S. OrrsTED, Professor of Botany, University of Copenhagen. The following Member has been struck off the List of Fellows for Non-Payment of Subscriptions :-— JouN S. MacBets, M.A., M.B., C.M., Ewell, Surrey. 312 Dr M‘Nab on the Structure of a Lignite Donations to the Library, Herbarium, and Museum were announced, The following Communications were read :— I. On the Structure of a Lignite from the Old Red Sandstone. By W. R. M‘Nas, M.D. Edinburgh. I am indebted to Mrs Miller for the opportunity of exam- ing the sections of the Old Red Sandstone lignite from Cromarty, the description of which I now wish to lay before you. On the four slides are preserved six sections, two trans- verse, two longitudinal, and two tangential. These sections are described and figured in Mr Miller’s works ; but although the slides were examined by the late Mr Nicol, as well as by Mr Miller, their peculiar characters seem to have been entirely overlooked. It is in the longitudinal section, parallel to the medullary rays, that the peculiar punctated markings to which I wish to direct attention are observable. Mr Nicol failed to detect these punctations, and therefore could not give any opinion as to the nature of the wood, while Mr Miller described what he called ‘“stipled” markings. The transverse and tangential sections are quite correctly described and figured by Mr Miller. Judging from the figures in Mr Miller’s works, the sections must all have been examined with a low power, and it is only by the use of a power of more than 200 diameters that the peculiar struc- ture can be easily made out. The specimen from which the slices were cut is now in the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, in Mr Miller’s collection. It consists of a nodule about 6 inches by 4, with a black bandin the centre. There can be no doubt whatever that the specimen is from the Old Red Sandstone, as Mr Miller describes scales of certain Old Red Sandstone fish occurring in the same nodule. The nodule was collected by the late Mr Miller himself at Cromarty, and is described in several of his books. The transverse section exhibits no trace of annual rings, but the structure agrees with that of the Conifers, in there being no large openings, all the cells being of very nearly Jrom the Old Red Sandstone. 313 the same size. As the stem has been greatly compressed the cells are more or less flattened. The longitudinal sec- tions exhibit at certain parts peculiar punctated discs. The external disc is slightly oval, closely resembling the circular discs of the ordinary conifers, but the central dot is replaced by an elliptical opening, exactly the same as the peculiar central markings found in the punctated tissue of the Cy- cadacee. The long axis of the central opening corresponds to the long axis of the external disc. These markings are svov bY sass, external diameter ; the central elliptical open- ing being nearly 57455 long, and sj55 broad. They seem to be smaller than the ordinary coniferous punctations, and, as in the sections, they are only to be seen with great clearness in one place, it is not to be wondered at that they had escaped observation. The tangential section shows the medullary rays cut across. In the transverse section, the medullary rays can also be seen very clearly. There can be no doubt whatever that the specimen is from the Old Red Sandstone formation; and from an examination of a large series of lignites from the north of Scotland, in the collection of Mr C. W. Peach, they do not seem to be un- common in that formation. All the specimens examined present the same external characters as the lignite found by Mr Miller. The microscopical structure of the other lig- nites has not yet been made out; but as Mr Peach has very kindly given me fragments of the lignites in his collection, I hope to be able to examine and describe their microscopic structure at some future time. A considerable quantity of bituminous matter obscures, to a certain extent, some of the structure, but not enough to prevent the structure being satisfactorily made out. What are the relations of this lignite from the Old Red Sandstone ? The discs are cycadaceous, but the structure of the rest of the stem precludes the idea of their stem being eycadaceous. The transverse section shows a very much closer relationship to the Conifer; but, as far as I know, all the Coniferee, with the exception of Salisburia, have circular dots in the punctated tissue. The peculiar form of the punctated markings indicates also a rather close resemblance to scalariform tissue—an almost intermediate step between scalariform tissue and true punctated tissue, 314 Dr M‘Nab on the Structure of a Lignite. The presence of medullary rays, the uniform size of the cells, as seen on transverse section, and the presence of punctations, although they are peculiar, seem all to point to a close relation to the Conifere. As I cannot refer the lignite to the carboniferous genera, Dadoxylon or Dicty- oxylon, it seems possible that it will have to be referred to a new genus; if so, I would venture to suggest the name of Paleopitys Millerti, for the Old Red Sandstone lignite now described. The relation of the markings found in the lig- nite to those of Salisburia is of peculiar interest. The Salis- buria is known to have leaves very closely resembling those of certain ferns. May it not turn out that some of the so- called fern-like leaves from the older formations should be referred to plants resembling the Salisburia of the present day ? Murchison* states that plants from the Old Red Sandstone of Caithness, examined by Professor Quekett, exhibited a true coniferous structure, allied to Araucaria. The lignites from Caithness, examined by Quekett, are therefore quite distinct from the lignite of Cromarty, discovered by Mr Miller. Il. Histological Notes. By W. R. M‘Nab, M.D. Kdinburgh, 1. On the Structure of the Adventitious Roots of the Portugal Laurel. In the month of October of last year, many of the branches of the Portugal Laurels, in the grounds of the Crichton Royal Institution, Dumfries, became covered with patches of adventitious roots. These adventitious roots were sub- mitted to a careful microscopic examination, and were found to present the usual histological characters of true roots, They arise in patches, more or less large, from the branches, but not in any regular order, their position on the branch not giving any clue to their relative age. The bark was always ruptured and pushed aside by the rootlets, showing that they have a deep-seated and not a superficial origin. Sections made in various directions showed that the roots are in direct relation to the cambium layer; and, in certain * Siluria, third ed., pp, 290, 291. : » . Dr M‘Nab’s Histological Notes. 315 sections, the medullary rays could be traced for some dis- tance into the adventitious root. All the cells of the medul- lary rays in the neighbourhood of the rootlet were filled up with small rounded starch granules, which gave the char- acteristic blue reaction with iodo-chloride of zine solution: The apex of the root was covered with the mass of loose cells common to ordinary roots, and forming a slightly developed pileorhiza. When sections were placed in carmine solution, the active cells at the growing point became, as usual, brightly coloured. One section was left, by mistake, for a long time in the carmine solution; this, when taken out and care- fully washed, showed a coloured matrix, in which the appa- rently loose cells were immersed. These cells, although ap- parently loose, can be always removed with the section from slide to slide. It is thus probable that the cells, instead of being loose as described, are more or less immersed in a gelatinous matrix, probably due to the degeneration of the primary cell-wall. I have not been able to get the same appearance again, as the rootlets were all destroyed before the above observation was made. The appearance was certainly not due to some of the colouring matter remaining between the cells, as every attempt was made to remove it without suc- cess. The only difference between these adventitious and true roots is in their position and irregular mode of growth. In their growing by addition to the growing point, and in histological characters, they are undistinguishable from true roots. Root hairs were also produced in abundance by the epidermis. 2. On Intercellular Substance and Cuticle. At the meeting of the Botanical Society held last Jan- uary, I communicated a paper on the staining of certain vegetable tissues. In it I took occasion to remark that the cuticle covering the external parts of plants could be readily stained with carmine, the so-called intercellular substance remaining colourless. During the year these experiments have been frequently repeated, and always with the same result, namely, that while the cuticle was quickly and deeply stained with carmine, the intercellular substance remained colourless. Careful observation of the growth of cells in the young roots of the white mustard, Phalaris canariensis, and 316 Dr M‘Nab’s Histological Notes. the garden pea and bean, have led to the conclusion that the so-called intercellular substance is in reality the original or primary cell-wall—that as growth goes on, this primary cell- wall becomes thickened by the addition of numerous more or less marked layers on the inside. In the stems of many plants it requires some care to be able to demonstrate that the cell-wall and thickening layers are separate. In the layer of cells of the epidermis, on which the cuticle rests, the outer surface is in general greatly thickened, while the in- ner part of the cells are only thickened at the angles at which the other cells join. This thickening at the angles is often so great that the cell appears almost filled up, or the thickening appears as a continuous layer. In the epi- dermal and subepidermal cells of the ivy the thickening is so great, that without careful examination the thickening might be considered continuous. On the more or less thickened external surface the cuticle rests, and may be considered as thickening occurring outside the cell-wall. We have many examples of this thickening outside a cell-wall, the cover- ing being analogous to a cuticular layer; as in the extine and intine of the pollen grain,—the intine representing the primary cell-wall, the extine the cuticular layer. The in- tine is the more important part, because the extine may be very thin or wanting, as in the pollen of Zostera. The outer covering of many spores, the exosporium, is also another example of a cuticular layer on a single cell. The so-called intercellular substance, as seen in sea-weeds, &c., seems to be a degenerated and gelatinous condition of the cell-wall, and of an entirely different character from that of the cuticle. From all the observations I have made, I think we must reject the statements of Wiegand, Schacht, and others, regarding the identity of intercellular substance and cuticle as untenable. III. Notice of Hieracium stoloniflorum, Waldst. and Kit. ; H. glomeratum, Fr. ; and H. prealtum, V7ll., as occurring in the Neighbourhood of Edinburgh. By Professor BALFour. Of late years the following paces of Hieractwm have been gathered near Edinburgh :— Professor Balfour on Hieracium stoloniflorum, dc. 317 1. Hieractum stoloniforum of Waldstein and Kitaibel. This plant is found in the meadows and pastures of Eastern and Northern Europe, chiefly in mountainous districts. Sta- tions are given for the plant in Russia, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Silesia, and Sweden. In Norway the plant is met with only near Christiania; and Fries, in his ‘“‘ Mono- graph of Hieracium,” says that it may possibly occur in the northern parts of Britain. It was found by myself and Mr Sadler in large quantity, on the banks of the railway be- tween Warriston and Meadowbank, near Edinburgh, on 16th October 1869. It is probable that it has been introduced in the first instance, although now it seems to be in a natural habitat. It belongs to the section Piloselle. Fries thinks that it is the H. dubtwm of Hudson, and refers to Withering’s Arrange- ment, ili. p. 684; Smith, Brit. Flor. p. 828; English Bot. figure 2332. The specific characters are,—Rhizomate repente stoloni- fero, foliis obovatis obtusis utrinque setosis intense viri- dibus, subtus floccis canis raris adspersis, scapo primario submonophyllo racemoso-corymboso oligocephalo, seepe ramo arcuato-adscendente aucto, capitulis erectis ventricosis basi truncatis, defloratis depressis, squamis concoloribus acutis, ligulis radiantibus subtus subvittatis. The rhizome is creeping and stoloniferous; scape erect, usually single, naked or with a single solitary leaf, bearing long white hairs, mixed with very short glandular ones ; leaves collected into a rosette at the base, more or less obovate or obovate-oblong, attenuated below; very short soft setee; capitula solitary, sometimes 24 or more, with alternate distant peduncles; scales acuminate; ligulate flowers yellow, the marginal ones having purple spots below. 2. Hieractum glomeratum, Fries. This species was found also on the railway embankments at Edinburgh, between Scotland Street and Trinity, by John Maclaren, in June 1869. The species is common in Eastern, Middle, and Northern Europe, extending to Upsal. The characters, as given by Fries, are,—Pallide viride. subglaucescens, pilis brevissimis mollibus adspersum, caule sparsifolio cano-floccoso, apice cymoso corymbosove, foliis lineari-lanceolatis acutis cano-floccosis, radicalibus elon- 318 Professor Balfour on Hieracium stoloniflorum, dc. gatis, pedunculis glomeratis cano-floccosis involucrisque ex ovata basi oblongis, defloratis conico-ventricosis, glandu- loso-pilosis, squamis acutis. Root oblique ; stolons either awanting or cord-like ; stem erect, somewhat hairy, covered with floccose hairs, inter- mixed with shorter hairs, black at the base and glanduli- ferous at the apex, with two or three scattered leaflets ; leaves in a rosette at the base, elongated and narrow, com- monly linear-lanceolate and acuminate, sparsely covered with hoary stellate flocci; cauline leaves remote; inflorescence more or less conglomerate; cymes of hairy capitula; in- terior scales (phyllaries) acute; ligulate flowers and style yellow ; achenes blackish, shorter than the whitish pappus. 3. Hieracium prealtum, Vill. This species was gathered several years ago in woods at Culross, by Dr Kirk. It isa plant of Middle and Eastern Europe. It is also found near Christiania. Its characters, as given by Fries, are—Glaucescens, setoso hispidum glabratumve, szpe flagelliferum, caule simplici stricto 1-8 folio, foliis lineari-lanceolatis subtus denudatis, primariis obtusis, corymbo dénso cano-floccoso, pedunculis defloratis strictis, capitulis subnudis virentibus ovato-cylin- dricis, squamis obtusiusculis carina hispidis, margine pal- lidis. It is H. cymosum, Leers; H. florentinum, Spreng; H. Auricula, Willd. Root is premorse and oblique; flagella sometimes present, at other times wanting; plant having a glaucous hue, often with a floccose covering, but without glandular hairs ; stem simple, straight, with 1-3 leaves; infloresence corymbose with few or many capitula; leaves lanceolate, attenuated towards the base; hairs of the capitulum short, usually non- glandular ; involucre with an ovate-oblong base, small, slightly flocculose ; flowers and styles yellow. IV. Notes on the Propagation of the Ipecacuan Plant (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha). By Mr M‘Nas. (Plate IV.) In August 1869 I had a conversation with Dr Anderson, Director of the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, relative to the growth, habit, and propagation of the Ipecacuan plant. Notes on the Propagation of the Ipecacuan Plant. 319 He was anxious to procure as many specimens as possible from the British and foreign nurseries and gardens, to send to India, for the purpose of establishing them in that coun- try. The Ipecacuan plant has always been exceedingly scarce in British collections, and, owing to its peculiar habit of growth, is likely to remain so, The conversation referred to induced me to turn my attention to the mode of propa- gating this plant, which for years had remained much in the same condition, making little or no progress. St Hilaire, in his ‘‘ Plantes Usuelles des Brasiliens,” gives the following information regarding the wild state :—“ It is found inhabiting the moist and shady forests of various parts of Brazil, especially in the provinces of Pernambuco, Minas Geraes, Bahia, and Rio Janeiro, its growth extending as far south as Lat. 22°; on the islands of Parahyba and the banks of two rivers called Pomba and Xipota it is particularly abundant.” It was first introduced into the British gardens in 1830, but through what source does not seem to be recorded. It is a plant of remarkably slow growth; the largest speci- men now in the Botanic Garden at Edinburgh is scarcely one foot in height, although more than thirty years of age, and has three leading shoots, each four inches in length. The method hitherto adopted of propagating the Cephaelis (as far as I am aware) is by cuttings, but of these not more than one or two can be got at a time, and at long intervals. Cuttings root freely when inserted in white sand. If placed in bottom heat, and kept somewhat moist, five or six weeks will be amply sufficient to produce roots After the cuttings are sufficiently strong, they should be potted in a mixture of fine loam and sand. On account of this comparatively slow method of propagating, the Cephaelis will probably remain scarce. The roots, or rather rhizomes, of the Cephaelis are pecu- liarly annulated (Pl. IV. fig, 2). A few of them were taken from one of the plants in the Botanic Garden during the month of August 1869, and after being cut into transverse sections of different lengths, were inserted in a horizontal position over the surface of a pot prepared with drainage and white sand. This pot was placed under a hand-glass in a warm propagating bed, and kept moist. A few weeks 320 Notes on the Propagation of the afterwards the root-cuttings began to swell, and showed signs of budding, chiefly on the edge of the upper cut sur- face, asin Pl. LY. fig. 3. In most cases only one bud was developed, but in some instances two or more were pro- duced. When several growing points are observed, the root can be cut through, so as to form independent plants. In every case the leaf buds are first developed and nourished by the sap in the fleshy portion of the root. As the buds begin to elongate, some fine filmy roots are protruded from the under surface. Young plants so produced are now growing freely in the garden, the largest being 34 inches high, with five small leaves, and young fibrous roots about 13 inch long (PI. IV. figs. 4,5). In order to meet the demand which in all likelihood will be made on nursery- men for plants of the Cephaelis, it is well to know how it can be propagated independently of cuttings, and at the same time without injury to the parent plant. Understanding that the Government intend to introduce the cultivation of this plant ito India, I would suggest that no time should be lost in securing a quantity of the Ipecacuan plants for the purpose of making a fair start. I have explained from experiments how this plant can be increased by means of root division; but as this will be a slow process, on account of the few established plants in the country to work upon, it is desirable that immediate steps should be taken to procure a quantity of plants or roots (rhizomes) from the native habitats in Brazil, and thus enable cultivators to get a stock to propagate from. For this purpose I beg to offer a few observations on the intro- duction and extension of the Ipecacuan plant. Various ways may be suggested for this end, The first, and perhaps the most expensive method, would be to have the plants brought home in Wardian cases, and on their arrival in this country, or in India, they could be subjected to root propagation. Ifthe tops come home alive, they also could be placed in positions to secure a new growth of leaves and roots. But acheaper, and perhaps the safest, method of procuring plants, would be to collect a quantity of the fresh roots or rhizomes from their native soil, and after seal- ing the cut extremities, to place them longitudinally in a close-fitted packine-box made of wood (not less than one Ipecacuan Plant (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha). 321 inch thick), having a layer of fresh sphagnum moss placed between each layer of roots. If the moss is firmly packed, it ought to keep the roots in a plump and perfect state for many months, or until such time as they reach their destination. If white sphagnum moss cannot readily be obtained, moss of any kind moistened, and the excess of moisture thoroughly squeezed out, will perhaps answer the purpose as well. If moss cannot be procured, heavy soil, taken six or eight inches under the surface, with the natural moisture in it, may be used, although not so suit- able as sphagnum. Rose bushes have been sent from this country to Aus- tralia, packed entirely in layers of sphagnum moss, and have reached their destination in safety. Some years ago I packed a quantity of roots of herbaceous plants in sphag- num, in the backwoods of Canada, during the month of August, and unpacked them in Edinburgh in January, all perfectly fresh; and I have also brought home many species of American tree seeds in sphagnum moss, in a state fit for growing, while samples of the same seeds, brought home in canvas and paper bags, were incapable of germination, From my knowledge of the preser- vative powers of fresh sphagnum moss, and the nature of the woody roots of the Ipecacuan plant, I have no hesitation in saying, that roots, or rooted stems (the plants being previously divested of their foliage), might be sent home alive in the manner described. It is a curious fact, that some variety of sphagnum moss is found in almost every quarter of the globe. A few weeks ago some plants of Anzctochilus, packed in sphagnum at Singapore, reached this country in good condition, thus showing the wonderful preservative powers of the moss. When the young Ipecacuan plants intended for India are of sufficient size, they ought to be hardened in a moderately cool plant-house for some weeks, to enable them better to stand the transit. After being sufficiently matured, they may be planted in a Wardian case, where they should remain a few weeks to settle before being sent out. However, this method of packing for transmission ~ abroad is not always desirable, except in the case of very strong specimens. With the exception of a few old ones, 322 Notes on the Propagation of the the age of the majority to be sent out will not average over eight or ten months. Such young plants could hardly survive in a case constructed on the Wardian principle, and the young roots could not hold the soil together ; besides, Wardian cases are liable to be upset, and the roots injured and lost. Judging from the size and nature of the plants likely to be available, it will be preferable to send them all in pots. The case for such plants to be divided into wooden compart- ments like a bottle basket (fig. a), each compartment being made to contain only one pot (fig B). The pots to be enve- Fig. A. loped in sphagnum moss, having some light clean pieces care- fully placed on the surface of each, and afterwards tied round and kept down with very fine galvanised iron wire, as bast matting or hemp cord, generally employed for such pur- poses is apt to mould with the damp and injure the young plants. The bottom of the case should be perforated with six or eight holes half an inch in diameter, to carry off any superfluous moisture. The plants, before being tied up, ought to be watered and well drained before the sphagnum covering is put round them, and so arranged in the case that the tallest shall be in the centre row. The bottom of the case should be covered with sphagnum, so that each pot will rest securely on it, and if necessary, some fine wire can be taken over the surface of the rack to keep the pots from moving. By the method of packing here suggested, the cases will be lighter than the ordinary earth ones, and more easily moved. A little fresh water now and then poured over the moss will be sufficient to keep the earth in the pots in proper condition. Such sphagnum prepared cases could be glazed, wired, and covered with tarpaulin in Ipecacuan Plant (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha). 328 the way adopted for Wardian cases. Instead of glass, I would recommend strong white cotton cloth tightly stretched, and tacked over properly constructed frames, hinged at the bottom, and made to lock or open at pleasure (fig. B). A sprinkling of fresh water over the cotton covering several times during the transit, ought to keep the plants in good condition till they reach their destination, without pouring it over the moss, as is necessary in glazed cases. The cotton-covered cases could be made of different sizes, to hold twelve, fifteen, or eighteen pots. The pots placed in each case should be of a uniform size, say 3 or 4 inches outside diameter. We shall suppose a plant case constructed to hold fifteen plants, and each pot 4 inches in diameter, This ought to be 26 inches long, and 16 inches wide (inside measure), made of wood one- inch thick, the sides to be eight inches deep, and the h ‘\ Fig. B. Fig. C. height need not be more than 18 or 20 inches. The ends to be wholly of wood, so constructed as to receive the framed cotton covering, and to be provided with iron handles. The rack to contain the pots should be made of wood # of an inch thick, and 3 inches deep, so secured as to be 4 inches above the bottom of the case, thus allowing the moss to be uniform over all the under surface ; by being so, it will be less liable to become dry, than if each com- partment were filled separate. If properly done at first with clean moist sphagnum, it will be found that the occasional moistening of the cotton cloth, either by rain or artificial watering, will be found sufficient to keep the plants in good condition till they reach their destination. It will be necessary, when the cases arrive at their journey’s end, to admit light and air very cautiously. In 324 Notes on the Propagation of the Ipecacuan Plant. the event of a glass covering, air ought to be introduced gradually, but with a cotton covering, less care is required, as no matter how strong, it always admits a certain amount of ventilaticn. If the plants arrive in good condition, they should be planted at first in an open, free, and fibrous soil, with a slight mixture of sand, and properly shaded and protected. In such a mixture, the fleshy roots will develope themselves better than in soil of a heavy compact or clay nature ; which, however, may suit them after they are sufficiently matured. If the tops of any of the plants should decay during the transit, the pots and soil should be preserved, as it is likely that fresh tops will be produced, from the fleshy portion of root under the surface. EXPLANATION OF PuaTE IV. . Ipecacuan Plant in flower. . Annulated Root or Rhizome, cut from a pot-grown plant. . Cut portion of a Rhizome, showing the growth at one month old. . Cut portion of a Rhizome, showing the growth at two months old. . Cut portion of a Rhizome, showing the growth at four months old. Nou om V. Notes on the “ Dogwood” of Powder Manufacturers. By Mr M‘Nas. In a letter Mr George H. Frere, Roydon Hall, Diss, re- marks— “Are you aware that the wood which is called ‘dog- wood’ at the gunpowder works, and used in the manufacture of the finer kinds of powder for small arms and fowling- pieces, is not Cornus sanguinea, but Rhamnus Frangula, and that the main supply of it is imported into this country from Belgium and Prussia? This last mentioned circum- stance makes me think the Rk. Frangula ought to be more frequently cultivated in England, for it is quite out of char- acter that the nation should be dependent on foreigners for the supply of an important material of defence. Failing to procure plants from the English nurseries, I looked into the catalogues of the Edinburgh nurserymen, and I find the Messrs Lawson quote it amongst ornamental trees and shrubs, Note on the Dogwood of Powder Manufacturers. 325 at 1s. to 8s. 6d. each; while Reids, of Aberdeen, do not men- tion it at all. Of course, there is no planting it by the acre at Lawson’s price. “Tf you have any means, by labelling the Rhamnus Fran- guia in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, or otherwise, of in- forming the public that it is the dogwood of gunpowder makers, you will be doing a decided benefit ; and perhaps nurserymen may then turn their attention to its cultivation for coppice wood.” The notice by Mr Frere on the use of the Rhamnus Frangula, or alder buckthorn, as it is called, in the manufacture of the finer kinds of gunpowder, is not new, having been already noticed by several old authors. It is, however, an im- portant subject, and one worthy of the attention both of nurserymen and arboriculturists. This species of buckthorn is a tree resembling in habit some plants of the common white hawthorn. It is of easy cultivation, both in light and heavy soils, and by a little attention could soon be got in large quantities. It produces abundance of fruit, which ripens freely in favourable seasons. It could easily be cultivated in hedge-rows, or used to form hedges, as it bears cutting in remarkably well. 1!t could also be planted with great advantage on many railway embankments, both in England and Scotland; with a little care after planting it would succeed well. In such places it would sustain no injury from engine sparks. The subject of using charcoal-producing plants for gun- powder purposes is an important one, and the Highland and Arboricultural Societies should bring it prominently before the public in their prize lists, in order that it may be fully investigated. The genus Rhamnus embraces about twenty-six species and varieties, and all are probably suited for gunpowder charcoal. A few of the species are sub-tropical, some are natives of North America, others of Spain, Switzerland, and the south of Europe; while Rhamnus Frangula and R. cath- articus, although Continental species, are likewise con- sidered natives of Britain. Dr F. Buchanan White has recently discovered Rhamnus Frangula in the parish of Contin, Ross-shire; he states— “The plants (of whose number I cannot, owing to the dense TRANS. BOT. SOC. VOL. X. Y 326 Mr M‘Nab on the Dogwood of growth of other bushes, speak with certainty) were well- established bushes, about 4 feet in height, flowering and fruiting freely, and growing in a marshy ground. Their asso- ciates were all native plants—alder, willow, birch, sweet gale, common heather,’ &c. This circumstance shows that there is no limit in Britain to its cultivation, if parties feel inclined to grow it for profit. It is not improbable that many other genera of shrubby plants are capable of producing a fine quality of charcoal as well as the common alder, the alder-buckthorn, and dog- wood, all now in use. Experiments could be made on the following British woods (if they have not already been tried): the sea buckthorn, common maple, white hawthorn, rowan tree, bladder-nut, spindle-tree, barberry, guelder-rose, way- faring-tree; also the hazel, birch, hornbeam, sloe, furze, broom, or even the ivy, which, in many districts, is injuring our forest trees to a great extent, likewise several exotic shrubs and trees, now largely cultivated in this country. Experiments could also be made with dried roots of many of our forest trees. After felling, such roots are generally left in the ground to rot, and are often very troublesome. If any, or all, could be turned to account for producing a useful charcoal, it would hold out an inducement to remove them from the ground, which could then be used for plant- ing, or for agricultural purposes. The high price which the wood and branches of Rham- nus Frangula bring in the British market—L.10 to L.14 a ton —is certainly an inducement for landholders to turn their attention to the cultivation of the alder-buckthorn, dogwood, or any other trees and shrubs found best calculated for pro- ducing the finer kinds of charcoal. The dry buckthorn branches are sent from the Continent in the form of com- pressed faggots, and peeled, previous to being charred. Since the above was written, I have received, through the kindness of Mr P.S. Robertson, a sample of the gunpowder- wood from the Roslin Mills, with the following letter from Messrs Hay, Merricks, & Co.:—‘ We have pleasure in send- ing you asample of the dogwood we use here in the manu- facture of gunpowder. The sample sent is of English growth, in the county of Sussex, and the price varies from L.10 to L.14 per ton, according to quality. We require all peeled Powder Manufacturers, 327 and packed into bundles of 100 pieces in each. The wood is cut generally in May and June.” The specimen sent from the Roslin Mills was subjected to a microscopic examination, along with recent woods of buckthorn and dogwood, and turns out to be the true alder-buckthorn (Rhamnus Frangula). It can readily be distinguished, both in the fresh and dried state, from the dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), by turning yellow immediately on being moistened, which is not the case with dogwood. If dogwood is really a charcoal-producing shrub, no plant could be so easily grown, as cuttings can be got in quantity. They will soon strike root, and grow as freely as a red or black currant. The misnomer of dogwood for alder-buckthorn ought to be corrected by all powder manufacturers, as it is apt to lead to unpleasant consequences, by parties growing and supplying the true dogwood, and afterwards finding the produce refused by manufacturers as not the dogwood re- quired by them. VI. Notice of Ruscus aculeatus. By Mr M‘Nas. Mr M‘Nab exhibited a specimen of Luscus aculeatus, or butcher’s broom, covered with rich crimson berries, sent by George KE. Frere, Esq., of Roydon Hall, Diss, with the following letter :— “Some years ago I found this plant in a state of ripe fructification. It is brought every Christmas into the market at Brighton, for the decoration of houses at that season. I had never seen before, in any other part of England, more than one, or, at most, two berries in any one clump of the plant, and I wished very much to get it to fruit in profusion at this place. “] was reminded that the plant was dicecious, and I found friends to supply me with female plants. Soon after I re- ceived them it was suggested to me that my plants might possibly not have been hitherto barren, because they were of the male sex, but for want of impregnating agencies. I saw, a day or two since, an article in ‘ Nature,’ by A. W. Bennett, who calls attention to the fact, that the normal time of flowering of the plant is almost the depth of winter, 328 Mr M‘Nab’s Notice of Ruscus aculeatus. when the number of insects that can assist in its fertilisation is certainly very small. Mr Bennett also remarks on the incorrectness of the periods generally given in the Text- Books of Botany for the flowering of each species. Hooker, in his ‘ British Flora,’ and Sowerby, in his original edition of ‘ English Botany,’ give March and April for the flowering of this plant.” Mr M‘Nab mentioned that, although several large clumps of the butcher’s broom exist in various parts of the Botanic Garden, he had never seen ripe fruit on any of them. All the plants but one have a dark green colour, all are very compact, and are now covered (8th December 1869) with rudimentary fruit buds, but no male flowers have yet been obtained. The one above alluded to, a tall ight green var- iety, has a few incipient scales on the side of the leaf. This may be the male plant, but as it is not growing beside what is undoubtedly the female plants, no seeds could be perfected. The specimen sent by Mr Frere, although containing nume- rous ripe berries, has also a number of apparent rudimen- tary fruit buds for next year, similar to those now seen on the plants in the Garden. It is difficult to say at what stage the impregnation of the ovule takes place. The plant is re- corded as dicecious, and flowers during March and April, and possibly this is the time when the male blossoms expand. It will be interesting to ascertain whether these rudimen- tary fruit buds, now covering the plants, remain as they are till the month of March, when the male flowers expand. Two specimens of Ruscus, one called &. aculeatus, and the other #. aculeatus rotundifolius, have just been received from the nursery gardens of Messrs P. Lawson & Son. The former is identical with the one cultivated here, and is also covered with rudimentary female flowers. The specimen called 2. aculeatus rotundifolius is also covered with buds; but after a careful microscopic examination, all turn out to be male buds, while the specimen sent from England by Mr Frere has male buds and ripe fruit on the same branch. From the state of the male buds on both plants alluded to, it seems impossible that these male flowers can have the stamens sufficiently developed before March or April. Mr M‘Nab’s Note on Carex paniculata. 329 VIL. Note on Carex pauiculata. By Mr M‘Nas. The Royal Botanic Garden has recently been presented with three plants of Carex paniculata, sent by Mr Archibald Gorrie, forester to the Earl of Leicester, Holkham Hall, Nor- folk. The plants measure, from the base of the roots to the extreme points of the leaves, 8 feet 6 inches, independent of what must have been cut off in the lifting. They have been growing in deep rich soil, as 3 feet of the lower por- tion of each has been bared of the peat; the part remaining is filled up with a mass of longitudinal roots or fibres, each nearly half an inch round. The circumference of the upper root portion of the largest plant is 5 feet 3 inches, from which a large crown of leaves proceeds. One of the plants has an upright stem above the peat, 1 foot 9 inches long, and 3 feet 6 inches in circumference, composed of the dead portions of the leaves; from the top of this pseudo-stem the large tuft of leaves is growing. The stem of this plant between the leaves and the peat has the lower base of the fallen leaves quite short and brown, appearing as if they had been destroyed by fire. It is impossible to calculate the age of these gigantic sedges ; but, judging from the quantity of decayed leaves round the base of each plant, and the way the peat seems to grow or rise round them, they must be at least a century old. Very few fruit spikes were observed, and of those found, the heads were comparatively small, the largest not more than 24 inches long. Some idea may be formed of the size and weight of these plants from the fact that it required three men to lift each of them. Mr Gorrie writes—‘‘ We have some taller and heavier plants than any of those sent. I observe they grow strongest when the roots get into the water. Iam told, when foxes abound, they are very fond of lying on the top of the Carex tussocks, and basking in the sun. This gigantic Carex is very common on sodden peaty soils in Norfolk. I have also seen it at the Duke of Grafton’s, and at other places in Suffolk, likewise near Bury St Edmunds.” B30 Mr M‘Nab’s Note on Pinus Benthamiana. VIII. Note on Pinus Benthamiana. By Mr M‘Nas. Mr ©. W. Peach, of Haddington Place, Edinburgh, ex- hibited a large cone, ripened at Overton, Orton, Peterboro’, from Mr Charles Bodger, under the name of Pinus macro- carpa. This cone is 64 inches long, and 14 inches in circum- ference. Mr Bodger writes—‘ The tree stands in the centre of my garden. It bore three drooping cones, in 1868, on the main stem, where that season’s wood shot from; no signs since of any more. It has made two shoots from branches since the cones were taken off, one each season. There are twenty- three spreads of branches from the main stem. I believe it has been planted where it now stands for twenty-two or twenty-three years. The tree is 34 feet in height, and 23 feet across the branches. The circumference of the stem at the surface of the ground is 4 feet.” Pinus macrocarpa is by many considered as synonymous with Pinus Coulter? and P. Sabiniana. The cone sent by Mr Peach agrees with the description of Pinus Benthamiana, of Hartweg, which we have never seen in cone. Numerous plants are cultivated throughout the country, raised from cones, introduced about eight years ago, under the name of Pinus Benthanuana. The cones were 43 inches long, and 7 inches in circumference. The habit of the plants, and the size and arrangement of the leaves of many of them, resemble the true P. Benthamiana. It is not improbable that all will turn out to be Pinus ponderosa, or a variety of it. In all cases a few cones ought to be sent home with seeds for identification. TX. Miscellaneous Communications. * 1. Major Peploe exhibited and presented a cone of Pinus Sabiniana, produced this season at Garnston. 2. Mr Gorrie, forester to the Earl of Leicester, exhibited and presented cones of Cupressus Goveniana, and male and female cones of Araucasta imbricata, produced at Holkham Hall, Norfolk. Mr Gorrie also exhibited a section of a stem, showing a graft between Quercus Avsculus and the common oak, the former being the graft. The graft had in- creased to 23 inches in circumference, while the attachment Miscellaneous Communications. 331 was very limited. When blown down during a recent gale it was found that the stems had only adhered to each other by a small portion of the wood and bark. 3. Mr C. W. Peach exhibited a collection of Shetland plants, a twin apple, and Leontodon Taraxacum with double heads of flowers and leafy appendages on the flowering stalks. 4. Professor Dickson exhibited, under the microscope, pre- parations of the drupe of Viburnum Lantana, and made some remarks regarding its structure. 5. Professor Balfour exhibited photographs of Indian forest scenery, including palms, banyans, &c., sent by Professor Stephen Coull Mackenzie, Calcutta. 6. Mrs Wright presented a specimen of Lythrum flecuosum, which had been gathered in the woods at Hallston, Shrop- shire. 7. Mr A. Craig-Christie exhibited a specimen of a species of Agrimonia, which he thought was J. odorata, collected by the waterfall in Glen Easdale, Arran; and also a specimen of a Hypericum from Birk Glen, Arran, which was con- sidered a variety of H. Androsemum. 8. Messrs Hay, Merricks, & Co., of the Roslin Powder Mills, presented a bundle of the so-called “dogwood” (Lthamnus Frangula), used by them in the manufacture of gunpowder. 13th January 1870.—Rosert Brown, Vice-President, in the Chair. The following Gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society :— 1. As Resident Fellows. JOHN LEITCH. JOHN METHVEN. 2. As a Foreign Member. Dr Grorce AuGust Prize, Custos of the Library, Berlin. 3. As an Associate. CHARLES WiutiAM Peacg, A.L.S. 332 Obituary Notice. Professor Balfour referred to the death of Miss Jane Farquharson, a Lady Associate of the Society. Her father was Thomas Farquharson of Howden, in West Lothian, a retired surgeon of the E.I.C.8., and her mother was Elizabeth Macleod, daughter of Donald Macleod of Geanies, in Ross- shire, and sheriff of that county. She was born at Howden on 18th February 1802, and died on 24th December last. She lived with her parents at Howden, and afterwards at Charlesfield, in the same neighbourhood, then at Inveresk, till her father’s death, about 1830, since which she resided in Edinburgh. She was kind and generous, and had a love for everything good and beautiful. She was elected a Lady Associate of the Society on 12th May 1842. The following Communications were read :— I. Note on the Embryo of Ruscus aculeatus. By Professor DICKSON. Dr Dickson made some remarks on the embryo of this plant, which he had examined from fruits sent to the Botanic Garden by Mr Frere, of Roydon Hall, Norfolk. The embryos were remarkable for their great variability in size, general form, and more particularly in the orifice of the cotyledon. Regarding the last point, the majority of the specimens exhibited the lips of the cotyledonary orifice as approxi- mated, thus forming a “slit,” this being evidently the normal arrangement, and corresponding to the ordinary type of cotyledonary orifice in Monocotyledons. In some cases the lips of the orifice were seen to gape in a remarkable manner. In these embryos the plumule is almost always small, rudi- mentary, and pretty deeply sunk in the cavity of the cotyledon; but in one case Dr Dickson observed it to be very much enlarged, completely filling up the cotyledonary cavity, and appearing externally between the lips of the cotyledon. Dr Dickson’s observations were illustrated by specimens under the microscope and by drawings. Plants collected in Spitabergen and Nova Zembla. 3383 Il. Notice of Plants collected in Spitabergen and Nova Zembla in the Summer of 1869. By Witu1am Livesay, Esq. The arctic plants which I lay upon the table this even- ing are specimens from a collection made last summer dur- ing a yachting excursion to the Polar Seas, in which I accompanied J. Lamont, Esq., F.G.S., of Knockdow, Argyle- shire; one of the chief objects of the expedition being to explore the unknown lands around Spitzbergen, and to ascer- tain the existence of a so-called Polar Basin. The “Diana” left the Clyde on 15th April, and dropped anchor off Tromso, North Norway, on 5th May. The only vegetation which greeted us here at this early season con- sisted of such small patches of scanty verdure as were beginning to be reclaimed from the winter’s snow by the daily increasing heat of the level rays of the sun. In justice, too, to Scandinavian taste and energy, I must not omit to mention the gay collections of plants which the inhabitants are in the habit of crowding into their southern windows. All else in this district, and in fact throughout the five hundred miles of coast we had steamed along, presented but a weary waste of monotonous white, with scarcely a suspicion of tree or shrub. At one island, however, Majerd (the northern point of which is known as the North Cape), where I had an opportunity of going ashore, Sazifraga oppositifolia occurred in flower, whortle-berries still adhered to their stems, and some species of Lastrea and Athyrium nestled in the crannies of the cliffs. We called in at Vardéhuus, on the confines of Russia, on 14th May, and ten days later, were off the island of Kolgeuv, further eastward on the north coast of Russia. It was not till 13th June that we landed at North Goose Cape, on the west coast of Novaja Semlja, in lat. 72° 15’ north, long. 52° 30’ east. This part of the country consists of undulating plains, rising farther inland to hills of con- siderable height; these undulations being intersected in every direction by frozen streams, with occasional lakes. On the low ground the snow was gradually disappearing in the lengthening days of sunlight, and revealed here and there strips and oases of vegetation. This consisted, at the 334 Mr W. Livesay on Plants collected in time of our visit, only of the sodden leaves, stems, and seed-vessels of the previous year’s growth, characterised by the usual alpine abundance of saxifrages, and large quantities of macerated grass and carices, while every avail- able space between the higher forms of vegetable life was filled up with mosses and lichens. The following were some of the species collected :— Racomitrium lanuginosum. Solorina crocea. Pogonatum urnigerum. Lecanora tartarea. Bryum nutans. Cladonia furcata. Cetraria islandica. deformis. cucullata. Umbilicaria cylindrica. Peltigera aphthosa. The budding twigs of a species of dwarf Salix were noticed in great quantity, and some of the Saxifrages seemed to be the first to answer the summons of summer. Most of the other plants seen here were gathered in more mature condition, later in the season, at Spitzbergen ; though, as will readily be imagined from the more southerly position of Novaja Semlja, the flora is more varied, and altogether of a higher type, than that of the former place. It was a matter for regret that the shortness of our stay at Novaja Semlja, and the earliness of the season, did not permit my making any further botanical researches in. this interesting country; for if, as others have pointed out, the floras of Spitzbergen and Greenland, with their many points of resemblance to each other, exhibit a close connection with the vegetation of Northern Europe on the one hand, and with that of Northern America on the other, there is a great probability that an examination of Novaja Semlja plants would, at least, form a very important rivet in the chain binding these two continents together—a chain already made up of a series of very interesting links. Judging from the general aspect of such clearings, as one could form an opinion from, I should think that, in the height of summer, this district must present the appearance of rich and luxuriant verdure, affording grazing, as it does, for the immense herds of rein-deer which have to lay up their winter stock of fat on these plains. Having left Novaja Semlja, on the 25th of June we first sighted the bold cliffs forming the South Cape of Spitz- et Veer 90°F vo” Spitabergen and Nova Zeiubla. bergen, but it was the 11th of July before I was able to add anything to my collection. At Cloven Cliff, Norway Islands, in lat. 79° 53’ north, long. 11° 30’ east (the most northerly point attained by the yacht), the following specimens were gathered :— Polytrichum commune. Pogonatum urnigerum. Bryum crudumn. nutans. Wahlenbergii. Cetraria aculeata. nivalis. Dactylina arctica. Parmelia lanata. Physcia elegans. obscura. Lecanora badia. Lecanora gibbosa. Umbilicaria arctica. erosa. Spheerophoron coralloides. Cladonia fimbriata. pleurota. Lecidea candida. contigua var. flavicunda. petreea. Jungermannia setiformis. nemorosa. Ranunculus hyperboreus was found in great luxuriance, and FR. nivalis in marshy ground. Papaver nudicaule, Cochlearia fenestrata, and Salix herbacea, occurred where the soil was deeper. The leaves of the two latter plauts supply the principal food of the brent goose, which frequents and breeds among these islands. The most favourable opportunity which presented for examining the botany of Spitzbergen was afforded by a detention of four days in Ice Fjord. The climate of this part of the island has by all explorers been considered the most mild and temperate in the whole country; ‘the Madeira of Spitzbergen,” it might not inaptly be termed. A large inland sea, of some hundreds of square miles in extent, stretches its arms of water, tempered by the Gulf Stream at its point of greatest influence, towards the glaciers and frozen mountains of the interior. The widely-hollowed valleys sheltered from the winds, which in other places blow like a whirlwind of keen knives from the glaciers, are fully exposed to the warming rays of the sun, which does not set for four months, and are watered by the copious streams which issue from the melting snows above. Under such favourable circumstances, the difference between the shores of this calm sea and the rugged clif coast outside, where glacier and storm, sea and cliff, iceberg and breaker are ever meeting, can be readily imagined. ‘The emotions 336 Mr W. Livesay on Plants collected in awakened by a sudden change from the frozen seas to a ramble on shore, were enhanced by the interest which every plant under foot possessed for the botanist, and the reflection that one might stroll and collect for miles among rocks and ravines where no human being had yet trod. The level ground near the water was chiefly occupied by the golden tufts of Potentilla nivea, by Dryas octopetala, the brilliant purple petals of Saxfraga oppositifolia, by S.ccespitosa,S. hyperborea, Stellaria humifusa, and Silene acaulis. On the drier ground were found Arenaria norvegica, Cerastium alpinum, and Stellaria Edwardst. In some places, where the soil appeared almost too poor to sustain any growth, the eye was dazzled by fields of Papaver nudicaule. On the slopes formed by the debris of the cliffs, which had disintegrated to form a very fair soil, the ground was even more closely clad in a variegated robe. In such localities I found Sazifraga cernua, Lychnis apetala, Polygonum viviparum, Cassiope tetragona, three species of Draba, Pedicularis hirsuta, and Oxyria reniformis ; associated with these were tufts of Poa arctica, Poa annua, and Hierochloe pauciflora. On these and other grasses the rein-deer, which frequent the valleys in great numbers, feed greedily, though, where herbage is so scanty, it may naturally be conceived that these animals can ill afford to be epicures, and are not particular as to what they eat, provided it be not one of the three constituents of the country—rock, ice, and snow. It was in a long deer chase, up one of these valleys, that I came upon that gayest of arctic flowers, Polemonium ceruleum; but although I carefully searched on several occasions, I was able to obtain only half a dozen specimens, which occurred close together, almost buried ina luxuriant patch of grass. In one of the marshes which are generally found where a valley opens on the sea, Carex rigida, Alopecurus alpinus, and other plants, peculiar to such habitats, and named in the completed list, were collected. On 27th July, I was able to get a few additional species from King’s Bay, some hundred miles north of Ice Fjord. It was the second visit we paid to this bay. On the former oceasion, a month previously, everything was completely snowed up; and where before there was but a flat expanse of snow, now, on landing, one trod on a carpet of verdure, some square miles in extent, level as a bowling green, composed Spitabergen and Nova Zembla. 337 of the most exquisite and harmonious varieties of colour and shade,—the blue petals and leaves of Mertensia maritima contrasting with the gay Saxifrages, Potentillas, and the naturally arranged bouquets of Stellaria norvegica. Later in the season, during August, we visited Stor Fjord, the great arm of sea which separates East from West Spitz- bergen. South Cape is said to divide two distinct climates ; and this fact could not be better illustrated by the coarse winds and storms experienced on the east, compared with the genial calms of the west, than by the contrast of the flora of the two islands. So desolate was the former district, that, though often ashore, I was unable to find any new species not obtained in the west, and many found in Ice Fjord were absent here. Still, that there is abundance of a coarse vege- tation, ismanifest from the number of rein-deer which feed on the east side of the fjord. These animals graze principally on the low land close to the shore, but in the course of our _ explorations, more particularly in Walter Thymen’s Straits, we met with large fertile table-lands, at the height of several hundred feet above the sea-level, and I have no doubt that a diligent worker in these so-to-speak high alps, with leisure and opportunity, might obtain some very interesting and remunerative results. The low shores of some of the bays are strewn with vast quantities of drift-wood of every size and shape, mostly consisting of the whole trunks of coniferous trees, in various stages of water and weather wearing. The origin of such accumulations has not failed to excite the interest and speculation of most voyagers to Spitzbergen, and has given rise to various theories, in some of which I need hardly state the inevitable Gulf Stream figures con- spicuously. Without going into all the arguments for and against the several solutions to the difficulty, I think we may consider that the bulk of the evidence points to the conti- nent of Siberia as the source of the timber. That it ever grew in situ will hardly be advocated by any one who has personally examined the shores of Spitzbergen. As a fact of curious interest in connection with the Gulf Stream, it may be mentioned, that Torrel, in 1861, at Shoal Point, met with a bean of Entada gigantilobium, which must have cone from the Gulf of Mexico. At Half-Moon Island, lat. 77° 17’ north, long. 23° 50’ 338 Mr W. Livesay on Plants collected in east, I obtained specimens of the red and green snow plant, which have been placed under the microscope for inspec- tion. It has, I believe, been thought that the species Protococcus nivalis and P. viridis are merely different stages in the growth of the same individual. This theory was by no means confirmed by the circumstances in which I ob- served the plants growing. The two were never found asso- ciated in the same patch of snow, nor was it possible to trace any intermediate forms in the passage from the simple cells of Protococcus nivalis to the jointed segments of P. viridis. The last terra firma we landed on was the bare trap and broken basaltic columns of that cluster of rocks known as the Thousand Isles. Where anything green presented,it was carefully treasured, but I was only able to collect one or two cryptogams, including Hypnum sarmentosum, Weissia sp., Cetraria aculeata, Cornicularia bicolor, and C. divergens. On 5th September we sailed for Norway, and a week later arrived among the most northern islands, to find the whole face of the country changed from the hopeless garb of winter, in which we had left it a few months before, to rich birch plantations and fertile meadows; the gush of green after the eternal snow, and the life around seemed to indi- cate that nature, no less than the thrifty peasantry, was anxious to make hay while the sun shone. I fear what I have said conveys but a very imperfect idea of the wealth of the flora to be met with in Spitzbergen. M. Fries and M. Malmgren, who accompanied the Swedish expedition to Spitzbergen, had most extensive opportunities of examining the flora, and they each have published the results of their research.* In conclusion, I take this opportunity of thanking Mr Sadler for his kindness in naming the specimens, many of which were eutirely new to me. [The author laid on the table a complete list of the plants collected, as drawn up by Mr Sadler, and presented speci- mens of the plants to the University Herbariuin.] Mr Buchan, in making some remarks on Mr Livesay’s * Tilligg till Spitsbergens Fanerogam.—Flora of Th. M. Fries. 1869, pp. 23, 8vo. Bihaug till om den Svenska expeditionen till Spitsbergen, 1864, af A. J. Malmgren. Stockholm, 1868, pp. 21, 8vo. Larne ne YaST a ta a ai 3 — sae o-oo _ Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. 339 paper, said that the large quantities of drift-wood referred to by the author as having been seen in many of the bays of Spitzbergen, had probably been brought there from America by the Gulf Stream. Mr Robert Brown also made some remarks on the paper. He did not concur with Mr Buchan in considering the masses of timber drifted on to the shore of Spitzbergen, as - being due to the Gulf-stream, and therefore coming from the American coast across the Atlantic. On the contrary, he stated that little timber is ever met with in the course of the Gulf-stream, nor are there any great rivers on the Atlantic sea-board which are subject to great overflows such as would bring timber down into the current of that stream. Most of the wood which Mr Brown and other observers had examined was coniferous in structure, and though it was impossible to determine the genus or species, the trunks being all denuded of bark and worn, yet he considered there could be but little doubt that they came from the mouths of the great Russian and Siberian rivers. Some of these rivers rise in the spring by the melting of snow twenty and thirty feet above their ordinary level, undermining their banks and sweeping the great rafts of timber out to sea. Some of this is also carried out frozen in the large pieces of ice. The drift from the Kara Sea carries out immense quantities of this timber, which piles on the coast of Spitzbergen. The current then flows westward, but is deflected by the Green- land coast, and then flows south at the rate of thirteen knots an hour to Cape Farewell. Here the breadth of the current, according to the observations of the Danish Admiral Irminger, may be considered at 100 miles from land, decreas- ing as it goes north until it is lost about the southern end of Disco Bay, where it is met by the north current which flows down Davis Strait. 'The force of the two may be said to meet near Rifkol, and to this cause Mr Brown considered the banks there due,—just as the Newfoundland banks are made by the meeting of a portion of the Gulf-stream with the current down the coast from Davis Strait. This “Cape stream” which flows down the east coast of Greenland, doubles Cape Farewell, and then ends about Disco Island, not only brings round great streams of ice—the ‘‘Cape Ice” of navigators—who, in order to avoid it when entering Davis 340 Mr W. Livesay on Plants collected in Strait, keep well off to the westward,—but also much drift- wood, which is piled up on some of the islands in Disco Bay. Further north it is uncommon, and in the far north is almost unknown. On the western shores of Davis Strait driftwood, for the same cause, is equally rare. Mr Brown could scarcely give in his adhesion to the ingenious hypo- thesis recently promulgated by Mr Findlay, viz.:—that the Gulf-stream ends about the banks of Newfoundland, and that the stream which is known under that name in the north is only the water drifted over by the continuance of westerly winds. The Gulf-stream, doubtless, extends far into the Arctic Sea, carrying up tropical seeds and Pernam- buco and Campeachy woods on to the coast of Iceland and Spitzbergen. It was, in all likelihood, owing to some north-westerly offshoot of this that the log of mahogany was drifted on to the coast of Greenland many years ago, out of which the Danish Governor, at one of the west coast settlements, made his dining table. Irminger has also shown that it is to the northern prolongation of this Gulf-stream that the harbours of Norway and south and west coast of Iceland are free from ice. If not, the ice would penetrate more frequently from the Arctic Sea on Iceland, and cut into the sea be- tween Iceland and Shetland. Thus it is rare for any ice to impinge on Iceland; the Greenland ice only coming on the Icelandic coast on an average seven or eight times in a cen- tury, producing famine by destroying the crops, by the low- ering of the temperature, and bringing troops of polar bears and foxes, but also abundant drift timber. It was to the accidental presence of this Greenland ice that the earlier discoverers named the island “ Iceland,” the name being as great a misnomer as Greenland—the one country having little ice except what comes from Greenland, and the climate being in reality rather better than some portions of the Norwegian mainland; while the other owes its only claim to greenness to the fertile imagination of Erik Rauthi and his ‘house carles,” the first visitors. When Iceland was dis- covered in 861, it was clothed with wood from the shores to the very tops of the mountains; but this timber (probably only bushes) has long ago disappeared from the island, as also from Caithness, Orkney, Shetland, and Faroe. The Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. 341 connection of this with some revolution in temperature is a subject of deep interest, but one not easily understood. Mr Brown concluded his remarks with an account of the Phyto-geographical relations of the Nova Zemblan and Spitzbergen Floras, giving in reference to the one country a summary of the researches of Von Baer, Sporer, and other observers ; and for the other a reswmé of the labours of the three Swedish expeditions, which have for some years past been exploring, in a most complete manner, with staffs of accomplished naturalists, the Spitzbergen Archipelago. He considered that though Mr Lamont had, owing to causes over which he had no control, partially failed in his original project, yet that great credit was due to him for his pluck and public spirit, and to his companions, Messrs Livesay and Smith, for their efforts to add to our knowledge of the scientific history of a region already so well examined under more favourable circumstances. III. Notice of Botanical Excursions during the Summer of 1869. By Professor Barrour. Dr Balfour stated that during last summer he made several botanical trips with his pupils, the results of which seemed not unworthy of notice. On 12th June, a party numbering eighty-six visited Manuel, Woodcockdale, Carribber Glen and Castle, Bowden- hill, Cockleroy, and Linlithgow. Among the plants collected were the following :— Trollius europeus. Lysimachia thyrsiflora (in the Aquilegia vulgaris. Union Canal). Berberis vulgaris. Anacharis Alsinastrum (in Chelidonium majus. Manuel Pond). Geran'um nodosum. Habenaria chlorantha. sanguineum. Neottia Nidus-avis. Rosa alpina (near Car- Allium Schcenoprasum. ribber Castle, in quan- Equisetum umbrosum. tity). Botrychium Lunaria. Polemonium cceruleum. Ophioglossum vulgatum. On 19th June a party of sixty visited Denny, where they met Dr Peter White, who conducted them up the banks of the Carron as far as the Hermitage. The following plants were met with :— TRANS. BOT. SOC. VOL. X. Z a4 Professor Balfour’s Botanical Excursions. Trollius europeus. | Gymnadenia albida and Meconopsis cambrica. Conopsea. Viola lutea and canina. Habenaria bifolia and chlor- Cardamine amara. antha. Fragaria elatior. Listera ovata. Rubus saxatilis. Orchis maculata and latifolia. Sedum anglicum and villosum.| Polypodium Dryopteris and Sempervivum tectorum. Phegopteris. Carum Carui. Lastrea Oreopteris. Carduus heterophyllus. Cystopteris fragilis. Mimulus luteus. Botrychium Lunaria. On 26th June a party of ninety-four proceeded to Cleg- horn, and walked along the banks of the Mouse as far as Cartland Crags, dividing then into two parties—one of which visited Stonebyres, and the other Corra Linn. Professor Dickson, from Glasgow, with fifteen of his pupils, accom- panied the party during the day. The following were some of the plants gathered :— Trollius europzus. Carduus heterophyllus. Aquilegia vulgaris. Galium boreale. Hesperis matronalis. Jasione montana. Geranium sylvaticum and Vinca minor. lucidum. Polemonium cceruleum. Trifolium medium and striatum.| Populus tremula. Vicia Orobus. Gymnadenia Conopsea. Fragaria elatior. Habenaria chlorantha. Rubus saxatilis. Equisetum hyemale. Carum Carui. Tortula Mulleri. Viburnum Opulus. On 3d July a party, consisting of fifty, proceeded by Stirling to Dollar, where they breakfasted. They were conducted by Dr Strachan and his son, and Mr Westwood, through the Castle Campbell Glen, and thence to the Ochils. The principal plants collected were :— Stellaria nemorum. Gymnadenia Conopsea and Ornithopus perpusillus. albida. Epilobium alsinifolhum. Habenaria chlorantha. Saxifraga stellaris and hyp- Eriophorum latifolium. noides. Carex rigida. Smyrnium Olusatrum. Equisetum umbrosum. Solidago Virgaurea. Cryptogramma crispa. Vaccinium Vitis Idea. Scolopendrium vulgare. Myosotis palustris. Hymenophyllum Wilsoni. Professor Balfour's Botanical Hacursions. 343 On 10th July a party of fifty went to Kelso, and break- fasted. They were met by Dr Douglas, Dr Paxton, and Mr Boyd, and proceeded by train to Twizel. There they crossed the Tweed, and were conducted by Mr Milne Home’s gardener through the grounds of Milnegraden. They then proceeded along the banks of the Tweed to Ladykirk, where they were handsomely entertained in the mansion of Mr Robertson, M.P. His gardener, Mr Scott, conducted them through the grounds. They then went to Norham, visited the castle, and walked by the banks of the Tweed to Paxton House, having crossed the Tweed a second time below the suspension bridge. Mr Milne Home kindly entertained the party, and accompanied them through his grounds, thence they proceeded to Berwick in time for the express train to Edinburgh. Among the more interesting plants collected may be noted :— Thalictrum flexuosum. | Scabiosa columbaria. Ranunculus arvensis. | Lactuca virosa. Nasturtium palustre and syl- | Silybum Marianum. vestre. | Echium vulgare. Cerastium arvense. Mentha viridis. Medicago maculata and den- | Ballota ruderalis. ticulata. Epipactis latifolia. (Enanthe crocata. Serrafalcus racemosus. On 17th July an excursion was undertaken to Perth and Dunkeld. aeieegs Se arerds pr! Sore er ES) 449 Mr Cooke on Kashmir Morels. Morchella gigaspora, n. s—Pileus subcylindrical or some- what conical, free at the base, and nearly to the top of the pileus; ribs longitudinal, connected by distant transverse folds, forming elongated, nearly linear, pits; stem even, short ; asci cylindrical; sporidia cylindrical, rounded at the ends, three diameters in length. ‘Kana kach,” “Kan gach,” “ Kana kuchoo,” of Lahore, partly ; Morchella semi- libera, Stewart’s “Punjaub Plants” (fig. 2). Vig. 2, Morchella gigaspora, and spore magnified 500 diam. The total length of the dried specimens does not exceed an inch and a half. The exposed portion of the stem not more than three-eighths or half an inch in length, and the diameter of the pileus at the base, its broadest part, not more than three-quarters of an inch. Sporidia, ‘002 in. long by 0006 in. broad. The last species is distinguished from all its congeners by the large spores. It is perhaps most closely related to Morchella patula, certainly not to Morchella semilibera. It would seem to be the least common of the two Kashmirian species. These are readily distinguished by the most super- ficial observer, if it be remembered that in Morchella deliciosa the base of the pileus is attached to the stem, and in Mor- chella gigaspora the pileus is free nearly to the top. It is to be hoped that this notice may assist in securing APR ERS ALS Mr Cooke on Kashmir Morels. 443 for us specimens of the larger morels quoted above, so that we may be able at some future time to announce the species to which they may be referred. IT. On the Characters of the Flowers of Silene maritima and Silene inflata as regards their Stamens and Pistils. By Dr F. Buchanan WHITE. Being at present in a locality where Silene maritima (With.) grows commonly, I have examined a considerable number of flowers. Before beginning the examination, I consulted Hooker and Arnott’s “ British Flora,” Babington’s “Manual of British Botany” (edit. 6), and Grenier and Godron’s “ Flore de France,” and was surprised to find that, whereas the two first mentioned works say nothing as to the nature of the flowers of Silene maritima, as regards stamens and pistils, and leave one to conclude that they are herma- phrodite, as in most of the other species of the genus, Grenier and Godron state that the flowers are polygamous or dicecious. The following are the results of my examination. I should first mention, however, that no selection was made in col- lecting the specimens to be examined, but that flowers from every plant met with in a walk of a mile along the shore were examined. Number of plants examined, 72. Number of flowers examined, 201. Number of plants perfectly hermaphrodite, 39. Number of plants in which the stamens were quite abortive, 11. Number of plants in which the styles were quite abortive, 10. Number of plants in which the style had a tendency to be abor- tive, 11. Number of plants in which the stamens had a tendency to be abor- tive, not clearly distinguished from the hermaphrodite plants. (Plants of mixed character (partly § partly 9), 1,—probably dis- eased.) In the perfectly hermaphrodite flowers, the stamens and styles were of nearly the same length, and the anthers (with pollen) and the stigmas and ovules well developed; but in the pistillate flowers the stamens, though always present, 444. Dr Buchanan White on Silene maritima. were reduced in length to from one-half to one-quarter the length of the styles, and the anthers varied from one-half the ordinary size to mere knobs on the ends of the filaments, and no pollen was produced. In these pistillate plants the styles were thicker and longer than usual, and the stigmas much more developed and rougher. In the staminate plants the stamens were from four to six times the length of the styles, which were, however, always represented. In the plants which showed a tendency for the staminate element to predominate over the pistillate, the styles were shorter and much more slender, and the stigmas but slightly developed. It must be noticed, however, that while the purely pistillate plants had healthy flowers, in no case were there any purely staminate flowers that had not the anthers filled with spores of ustilago. Not only does this apply to the flowers examined, but to all other staminate plants of Silene maritima that I have seen. Whether the attack of the ustlago is the cause of the abortion of the styles, 1 cannot say. The styles did not appear to be infected with the fungus. In the hermaphrodite flowers the petals are of large size, as is usually the case, but in the staminate and pistillate flowers the petals are reduced to from one-half to one-third the size ; this is so invariably the case, that it is possible at some ‘yards distance to tell from the size of the flowers whether the plant is hermaphrodite or dicecious. In many cases too, but not invariably, the crown of the petals in the dicecious plants is much reduced, in some cases to a mere protuberance at the junction of the limb and claw of the petal. In the staminate plants, the calyx is not so inflated, as the seed-vessel, of course, will not be matured, and I think, too, that there is a tendency in the panicle to have more flowers than is usual in the hermaphrodite plants. The result of the above proves, I think I may venture to say, that the flowers of Silene maritima should be described as “ polygamous or subdicecious,” and that we may conclude that it is a species in process of being developed into that higher order of plant life in which the stamens and pistils are separated and placed on different individuals. In examining the 201 flowers, I also noted the number of the styles, which is variable in this species, ranging from three to five. The respective numbers were as follows :— Dr Buchanan White on Silene inflata. 445 Flowers with three styles andthree-celled ovary, 122. Flowers with four styles and four-celled ovary, 68. Flowers with five styles and five-celled ovary, 11. After having examined the flowers of Stlene maritima, I turned my attention to the flowers of Stlene inflata, which grows commonly in a corn field here. The following are the results of the examination :— Plants examined, 15. Flowers examined, 40. Perfectly hermaphrodite plants, 5. Staminate plants, 3. Pistillate plants, 6. Plants with a tendency to be staminate, 1. It thus follows that the flowers of Szlene inflata are either polygamous or subdicecious. In all cases both styles and stamens were present, but either abortive or strongly de- »eloped, as we saw was the case in Silene maritima; and, as in that species, the anthers of all the staminate plants were filled with the spores of ustilago. In both Silene maritima and S. inflata there seem to be no plants except staminate ones attacked by the fungus. The size of the petals in the dicwcious plants of Silene in- flata does not appear to be reduced, though in the staminate plant the whole of the flower is reduced in size. As regards the number of the styles, 38 of the flowers had three styles each, the remaining two flowers having four each. Without entering into that guestio vexata, the distinctness as a species of Silene maritima from S. inflata, I may men- tion that I think that one character ou which stress is laid as a proof of their distinctness as species, namely, the scarious bracts in S. inflata and the herbaceous bracts in 8. maritima, is not invariably constant, as I have found her- baceous bracts in S.2nflata,and scarious bracts in S.maritima. Another character on which great reliance seems to be placed, is the presence or absence of a crown to the petals, but this also is subject to modification, as some plants of S. maritima have only the faintest trace of a crown, and some plants of S. inflata have their petals very nearly crowned,— in fact, they have more of a crown than have the above mentioned plants of S. maritima. 446 Mr Sadler’s Notes of an Excursion to Perth. III. Notes of a Botanical Eacursion to the neighbourhood of Perth. By Mr Sapurr. Mr Sadler gave an account of an excursion to Perth and its neighbourhood which he had made in company with Professor Balfour and about fifty botanical students on 2d July last. The places visited were the North Inch, banks of the Tay, the ‘“* Wooded Island,” Bertha Woods, banks of the Almond, Pitcairnfield, and Methven Bog. Amongst the plants collected were the following :— Thalictrum flexuosum. Iberis amara. Turritis glabra. Silene maritima. Stellaria nemorum. Malva moschata. Hypericum maculatum. Geranium sylvaticum. Genista anglica. Alchemilla alpina. Cicuta virosa. Helosciadium inundatum. Valeriana pyrenaica. Dipsacus sylvestris. Lactuca virosa. Some of the party visited Scone and Kinnoul, and col- lected— Hesperis matronalis. Geranium Pheeum. Potentilla argentea. hirta. tosa arvensis. Vaccinium Oxycoccus. Menyanthes trifoliata. Mimnulus luteus. Verbascum Thapsus. Utricularia minor. Armeria maritima. Littorella lacustris. Plantago maritima. Anacharis Alsinastrum. Habenaria chlorantha. Narthecium ossifragum. Scheuchzeria palustris. Carex limosa. Lastrea spinulosa. Linnea borealis. Moneses grandiflora. Trientalis europea. Allium Scorodoprasum. 4 Ceterach officinarum. IV. On some Striped Stones from Hayle, near Penzance, Cornwall. By C. W. Peacs, F.R.P.S. When in Cornwall last year, I examined a quarry at Hayle, which was worked for ballast for ships, and metal for the roads. A small strip of rock was left unquarried at the bottom. This attracted my attention; I ripped up a portion, and turned up a fine specimen, which caused me to say, “Had I got this in the carboniferous formation near Mr Peach on some Striped Stones from Hayle. 447 Edinburgh, I should unhesitatingly have pronounced it to be the impression of a Calamite.” This specimen was a very good one, and I regret that I did not bring it with me—the more so, from being present, on my way home, at the Geo- logical Society of London, when a paper on “ The Eophyton Sandstone at Lugnas in Sweden” was read, and specimens from thence were exhibited. These specimens I was allowed to examine the next day, and in some of them I could trace a great similarity with those from Hayle. Soon after I got back to Edinburgh, I got the “Geological Magazine” for September 1869, in which is a paper “On the Fossils found in the Eophyton Sandstone at Lugnas, in Sweden.” It is illustrated with three plates of the fossils, where in plate xi. figs. 3, 4, is a good figure of Hophyton Linneanum, Y. Torell. I then became very anxious to have specimens from Hayle. Last week, through the kindness of Miss E. Carne, I received a small box of “striped stones” from that place, and of these I now show four or five specimens. They are not so good as the first I got. Iam, however, obliged to the lady for so kindly attending to my wishes. You will perceive that one has the appearance as if a branch sprang from it, and that it is striped in the same manner as the plate. The matrix is also a very fine-grained light-coloured sandstone, like that at Lugnas, and breaks in all directions, but is a bedded rock. - ~ ae ee 000m Say A! + iv caine arama aaa a Nr - ee ee be oo anand — Lagann teat atubs achat eke eerie hes ieee Ta > ae mae ee tem as i Ce lial