civ in GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



to deserve notice here. As somewhat previously indicated 

 by Sir Victor Brooke, in the common Virginian and black- 

 tailed deers and their allies, the lateral metacarpal bones are 

 atrophied at their proximal extremities and are well devel- 

 oped at their distal ; on the other hand, in the so-called elk 

 and the red-deer of Europe, the corresponding parts are de- 

 veloped at their proximal extremities and atrophied at their 

 distal. In these characters the smaller deer agree with the 

 reindeer and the moose. The large deer are now alone re- 

 tained in the genus Cervus; for the small ones, Cariacus of 

 Gray is used. 



It is doubtless known to most of our readers that two 

 kinds of foxes are found in North America the red foxes 

 (including the varieties and sports from that form) and the 

 gray foxes. All of these have hitherto generally been com- 

 bined under a single genus, Vulpes, but Professor Baird long 

 ago distinguished in this genus two groups for the recep- 

 tion of these several forms, retaining the name Vtdpes for 

 the red foxes, and proposing the name Urocyon for the gray 

 ones. Professor Gill has lately found that these forms are, 

 however, but distantly related, and considers that the gray 

 foxes are allied to Nyctereutes. and some other forms, and 

 more remotely to the singular African genus Jlegcdotis, while 

 the red foxes are very nearly related to the dogs and wolves. 

 He therefore combines the red foxes and wolf-like forms in 

 one group, contrasted with the gray foxes. 



Among other publications on the mammals may be enu- 

 merated the Milne-Edwards' "Recherches sur les Marami- 

 feres," now completed ; and various articles by Sir Victor 

 Brooke, W. Busk, J. E. Gray, Sinhoe, etc. 



BOTANY. 



Botanical progress in America shows the completion of no 

 work of very marked importance. Dr. Asa Gray has con- 

 tinued his "Contributions" in the Proceedings of the Amer- 

 ican Academy, consisting of notes upon various genera of 

 Composites, including especially a revision of the genus Cni- 

 cus and followed by a review of the orders Borraginacem 

 and Solanacece. The American Chenopodiacece .have also 

 been revised by Sereno Watson in the same Proceedings. 

 Dr. John Torrey's report, prepared long before his death, 



