820 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



Mr. F. H. Taylor exhibited two photographs depicting a 

 Brazilian disease called "Rabbit Myxoma" or Blepharocon- 

 junctivitis. It is said that the domestic animals — horses, cattle, 

 goats, cats and dogs — are immune; nothing has so far been 

 proved concerning the pig. 



Mr. W. M. Carne exhibited from the National Herbarium, a 

 specimen of Bupleurum protractum Link, and Hoffm. from 

 Beeeroft, N.S.W.- — an introduced plant not previously re- 

 corded from Australia. Other records in the National Herbarium 

 are from Lisrnore, Orange, and the Murrumbidgee District. 



This species has long been confused with B. rotundifolium L. 

 of which there are no Australian specimens in the Nat. Herb. 

 Bailey records B. rotundifolium (Weeds and Suspected Poison- 

 ous Plants of Queensland, 1906) but the accompanying illustra- 

 tion is of B. protractum. Ewart, Rees and Wood (Proc. Roy. 

 Soc. Victoria, vol. 23, f. 54) in recording B. rotundifolium 

 recognise the confusion but doubt the validity of B. protractum. 

 It would appear that their remarks are based upon incomplete 

 descriptions of the two plants. 



Specific Differences. 

 (De Candolle, Prodromus, vol. 4, f. 129.) 



B. protractum Link and Hoffm. — Stem foliage ovate oblong; 

 umbels 3-rayed; fruits echinate granular in the intervals. 



B. rotundifolium L. — Stem foliage ovate nearly round; um- 

 bels 5-rayed; fruit smooth in the intervals. 



Mr. A. A. Hamilton exhibited a series of specimens from 

 the National Herbarium, Sydney, showing various stages of 

 synanthy and syncarpy. (a) Cosmos bipinnatus (1. J. H. 

 Camfield, Bot. Gar., Sydney; 2. Thos. Steel, Pennant Hills). 

 In both examples the united peduncles are fasciated at the 

 apex and slightly contorted bringing the flower-heads together 

 laterally; (b) Helianthus Hort. var. (W. F. Blakely, Hornsby). 

 Four capitulas are coherent in two pairs. The fusion of the 

 lower pair is almost complete, forming a flower head whose 

 phyllotaxy — as shown by the position of the ray florets — is only 

 broken by their limited suppression in the region of intrusion 

 by the upper pair. (c) Chrysanthemum frutescens (A. A. 

 Hamilton, Ashfleld) . In this series the fusion originated with 

 banded stem fasciation which was gradually reduced until two 

 stems only remained united. At a later stage the degeneration 



