Botanical Society of Edinburgh. Ijj^ 



ledones, for there are several fishes which have no vertebrae. The 

 Insecta of Linnaeus, or the articulated animals of authors, are di- 

 stinguished by the absorption of the vitellus occurring by the back ; 

 and as all of them are not articulated, it vv^ould be better to name 

 them the Epivitelliens or Epicoty ledones. In the Worms ( Vermes) of 

 Linnaeus, of which Cuvier has made his MoUusca and Radiata, the 

 vitellus returns inwards neither by the back nor by the belly ; and 

 we may distinguish them by the names of Allovitelliens or Jllocoty- 

 ledones. The MoUusca certainly do not differ so much from the 

 Radiata, as the Vertebrata do from the Articulata. Time, as the 

 author says, must test this arrangement, which must be admitted to 

 be very ingenious. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 

 Dec. 11, 1845.— Dr. A. Inglis in the Chair. 



Mr. J. M'Nab read a continuation of his Journal of a Tour through 

 part of the United States and the Canadas. 



In the present portion, embracing the journey from Niagara to New 

 London, Mr. M'Nab particularly alluded to the excellent state of 

 the cultivated grounds through the Hamilton and Gore districts, and 

 the suitableness of large tracts of the wooded country for emigrants. 

 On some waste land round the head of Burlington Bay, many good 

 specimens of herbaceous plants were observed in flower; of these 

 the Lespideza hirta, Polygala verticillata, Gerardia tenuifolia, and 

 G. pedicularia, were abundant, with Chrysopsis alba ; the latter plant 

 being noticed for the first time as an inhabitant of Canada. Two 

 grasses with strong herbage, Andropogon furcatus and Limnetus cy- 

 nosuroides, abound in the neighbourhood of Hamilton, but neither 

 seemed to be relished by cattle. The moorland ground in the 

 vicinity of Brantford afforded many interesting botanical rarities, 

 among which Euphorbia corollata was conspicuous. Liatris strict a, 

 Aletris farinosa, Lespideza frutescens, Batschia Gmelini, Arenaria 

 striata, Viola palmata, with many others, were plentiful in flower, 

 and proved most attractive objects on the dry sandy plains ; while 

 the moister places yielded Tofieldia glutinosa, Zigadinus chloranthus, 

 and Glycine apios in profusion. The forests of the inland districts 

 were exceedingly rich and varied, many of them containing large 

 and lofty trees of oak, elm, beech, hickory, ash, and white pine. 

 Some of these districts, in process of clearing, presented a very re- 

 markable appearance in consequence of large groups of stately trees 

 standing dead, many with stems from 10 to 14 feet in circumference 

 and varying from 80 to 100 feet in height. The mode resorted to 

 by the settlers for killing the trees is by cutting, during the early 

 part of winter, a notch five or six inches deep round the lower part 

 of their stems. The white pines presented a very singular appear- 

 ance, caused by a peculiar seeming twisting of the decayed trunks in 



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