1 8 THE PLANT WORLD. 



The herbarium of the State Agricultural College of Michigan con- 

 tains 62,558 specimens, according to the recently issued report of 

 Professor W. J. Beal. 



Cornell University sends out a neat little announcement of the 

 New York State College of Forestry, recently founded by act of the 

 State Legislature. Though it receives public support, it is adminis- 

 tered by the trustees of Cornell, and its faculty is composed of profes- 

 sors and assistants from that institution. Its aim is "to furnish in- 

 struction in the principles and practice of forestry, and provide facili- 

 ties for the education especially of managers of forest properties." 

 The State forest reserve in the Adirondacks will furnish a valuable 

 field for practical demonstrations in forestry practice. 



Professor W. J. Beal has recently issued, under the auspices of 

 the Michigan State Agricultural College Experiment Station, a num- 

 ber of short bulletins on elementary botany, designed especially to 

 help teachers in the common schools. The first is a " Study of Beans 

 and Peas before and after sprouting;" the second deals similarly with 

 Wheat and Buckwheat, and, and the third with Timothy and Red 

 Clover. They are copiously illustrated and will undoubtedly be found 

 of much value in teaching elementary botany. Copies of these bulle- 

 tins may be obtained by addressing the Secretary, Agricultural Col- 

 lege, Michigan. 



In a recent publication entitled " Contributions to the Bryological 

 Flora of the Northwestern Himalayas," V. F. Brotherus enumerates 

 the mosses collected in various parts of the Himalaya mountains, 

 especially in Sikkim and the valley of Kashmir. A brief account of 

 the region is given by Mr. Duthie, Director of the Forest Department 

 of Northern India, from which it appears that the whole region is 

 a mountainous one, the average elevation above the sea being 

 about 6,000 feet, the main ranges extending from northwest to south- 

 east, and including several peaks from 20,000 to 26,000 feet high, 

 which give rise to some of the largest glaciers in the world. There is 

 one remarkable feature, both in Kashmir and among the Himalayan 

 ranges generally, and that is the preponderance of forest growth on 

 the slopes facing the north, and owing to its latitude, 35^" north, agree- 

 ing with that of the southern boundary of North Carolina, the sun's 

 rays are too hot for the growth of mosses on the southern slopes, and 

 the bryological vegetation comes nearest to that of central Europe. 

 It is surprising to find that out of the total number listed, 49 genera 

 and 96 species are found in North America as well, and in many 

 genera all but two or three species are identical. — E. G. Britton, New 

 York City. 



