28 1 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



Dr. H. F. Hance, in the October numl)er of Trimen's Journal, 

 describes a new genus of Taccacea^, which he calls ScJiizocapsa. The 

 only other genera of the order are Tacca and Ataccia which the author 

 is inclined to retain as entitled to rank as separate genera. The new 

 genus comes from China. 



As WE GO TO PRESS we leam with great regiet of the death of 

 Dr. A. P. Garber, whose name is so familiar in connection with the 

 plants of Florida. In the next Gazette may be expected a short 

 memoir written by Prof. T. C. Porter, who probably knew him better 

 than any other of his associates. 



According to Dr. Farlow, DeBary is not willing to go as far 

 as Sachs in giving up the general distinction of algtt and fungi, al- 

 though recognizing their close relationship. This whole thing of the 

 classification of Cryptogams is enveloped in a blinding mist, and no 

 man knows when it will clear away. 



M. J. Vesque, in the current number of Ann. Sci. Nat., de- 

 scribes and figures some "New Elements in the Liber of Acanthaceiv." 

 They are needle-shaped bodies, occurring in great numbers in certain 

 cells of the liber, and at first glance would be called raphides; but 

 the proper reagents show them to consist of cellulose incompletely lig- 

 nified. As many as a score of these cellulose needles are contained 

 in large cells which are ordinarily pointed at both ends. 



Sir Joseph Hooker, in his recent address before the Geographi- 

 cal section of the British Association, said that Humboldt was the 

 founder of the science of geographical distribution, Forbes its reform- 

 er, and Darwin its latest and greatest law-giver. The first naturalist 

 to investigate as a botanist the laws of distribution from a paleontolog- 

 ical standpoint was Dr. Asa Gray and the brilliant results are well 

 known to us in that wonderful chapter upon the relation of our own 

 flora to fossils found in Arctic regions. 



Mr. Thiselton Dyer has propounded the latest theoretical ap- 

 plication of the laws of geographical distribution, which Sir Josep'n 

 Hooker states as follows : The floras of all the countries of the globe 

 may be traced back at some time of their history to the northern hem- 

 isphere, and they may be regarded in point of affinity and S])ecializa- 

 tion as the natural results of the conditions to which they must have 

 been subjected during recent geological times, on continents and 

 islands with the configuration of those of our globe. 



M. P. Sagot, in the last number of Annales des Sciences Natu- 

 relles, begins a catalogue of the pheenogomous and vascular cryptogam- 

 ous plants of French Guyana, the country with the peppery capital. 

 Of course the names are for the most part unfamiliar, and families of 

 no importance with us make grand displays in this tropical colony. 

 For instance, the very first family mentioned is the Anoimcece. The 

 six species belonging to the whole of North America are replaced by 

 33 species in this little patch of South America, containing but 25,000 

 square miles. 



Prof. W. J. Beal has been writing about "Indian Corn." His 



