BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 311 



getic botanist, our latest being dated December 25, 1855, from Tara- 

 pota, as announced in our last year's Journal, page 177, on the Hua- 

 llaga, a tributary of the Amazon, but within the territory of Peru. 

 Again, by the latest mail, from letters received on the 18th of July, 

 1857, we learn that Mr. Spruce was still at Tarapota, detained, partly 

 by political revolutions and partly by swollen rivers, from proceeding 

 to Quito, his next place of destination. The means of getting there 

 are partly by water, a voyage of two months' duration up the rivers, 

 and partly by land. Another collection of plants is announced as 

 about to be despatched from Tarapota, and among them several sets of 

 Ferns, independent of those distributed by Mr. Bentham with the ge- 

 neral collections. We have reason to hope that Mr. William Mitten 

 (Hurstpierpont, Sussex) will kindly undertake the naming and dis- 

 posal of these Ferns, on the same terms, we presume, as the other 

 plants, namely £2 the 100 species. The Musci and Hepatica of this 

 remarkable journey we believe will be retained till Mr. Spruce's return 

 to Europe. 



North 



'alii 



commanding the British North-American Exploring Expedition, dated 

 "Isle Eoyal, Lake Superior, June 12." At this point, Isle Royal, the 

 party first touch British ground. Excellent canoes, with the needful 

 complement of men, were provided at Sault Ste. Marie. These were 

 taken on by the steamer with the party,, to Isle Royal, about sixteen or 

 twenty miles from Fort William, the first British Fort on the mainland ; 

 and it was fortunate they did not make the voyage in the canoes, for 

 late as it was in the season, they had to plough through seventy miles 

 of drift-ice in the steamer, crushing and thundering as they went along. 

 This, besides avoiding the risk of injury to the boats, was a saving in 

 time of fifteen days. Fort Garry, Red River, Hudson's Bay Company's 

 Territories, will be the party's head-quarters for some time. 



4 



Scottish Alpine Plants. 



Mr. W 



Aberdeen, proposes to issue, on his return from Braemar, a few sets of 



