The Scottish Naturalist. 129 



f>alustris. Hooker correctly places one as a variety of the other." 

 Cyb. Brit. Province 15, in a ditch, Carse, Forfar, 1790, G. Don, 

 Syn. 26, Cyb. i"92. Bab. Man. vii. 12. 



" Var. b. radicans, Hook." Gard. Fl. F 5. 



" In a ditch that runs from the farm house, called Haltown, 

 on the estate of C. Gray, Esq. of Carse, Forfarshire, 1790, 

 Mr. G. Don. No other botanist has, I believe, found this, but 

 if the station is not destroyed, future research may determine 

 whether it is not identical with C. palustris, minor, the alpine state 

 •of the common plant." 



Caltha radicans Forst. only escaped inclusion in the list of 

 Don's " reputed discoveries " from its being given as a variety of 

 <C. palustris in the Student 1 s Mora. 



Arnott's positive statement shows rather the opinion of an ad- 

 vocate than a judge. This plant, as your readers are aware, has 

 been refound by Mr. W. Graham near Rescobie, where he pointed 

 it out to me in 1882. The plant is very different from C. minor, 

 although, size excepted, it is nearer that than palustris ; probably 

 the rich muddy locality, shaded with trees, which, acting through 

 a long course of time, has been the primary cause of its peculi- 

 arities. It will probably turn up in other localities. The marshes 

 by Loch Cluny, &c., would be likely places. 



Rapistrum orientate D. C. 



MEETINQ8 AND PROCEEDINGS OP SCOTTISH SCIENTIFIC 



SOCIETIES. 



|[Xote. — Accounts of meetings during the month preceding date of issue of 

 any number of this magazine are too late for insertion in that number, but 

 will appear in the following one.] 



BRITISH ASSOCIATION MEETING AT SOUTHPORT. 



In the meeting of 1883 it can hardly be said that there 

 were any subjects discussed that related to Scottish biology or 

 geology, or of a nature specially interesting to Scottish students of 

 science. Full accounts of the meeting from its social side having 

 appeared in all the leading newspapers, it is unnecessary to refer 

 to that aspect of it here. The papers in the various sections were 

 quite up to the standard of former years in point of interest ; but 

 for a full account of them we must refer those interested to the 

 next volume of the Reports. The presidential addresses in the 

 sections were : — in the Biological section, by Professor E. Ray, 

 Lankester, " On the advance?nent of Science i?i Biology in Fngland/ 1 

 in the Anthropological section, by W. Pengelly, F.R.S., on " Cave- 

 hunting in Britain, more especially in so far as throwing light o?i 

 the antiquity of man in these islands ; " and in the Geological sec- 

 tion, by Professor W. C. Williamson, F.R.S., " On the present stati, 



1 



