58 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Pinus Sabiniana, produced this season at Garston. 2. Mr. Gorrie, forester to 

 the Earl of Leicester, exhibited and presented cones of Cuxtressus Goveniana, 

 and male and female cones of Araucaria imhricata, produced at Holkham Hall, 

 Norfolk. Mr. Gorrie also exhibited a section of a stem, showing a graft be- 

 tween Quercus (Bsculus and the common Oak, the former being the graft. The 

 graft had increased to 23 inches in circumfei'ence, wliile the attachment was 

 very limited. When blown down during a recent gale, it was found that the 

 stems had only adhered to each other by a small portion of the wood and bark. 

 3. Mr. C. W. Peach exhibited a collection of Shetland plants, a twin Apple, 

 and specimens of Dandelions with double heads of ilowers and leafy appendages 

 on the flowering-stalks. 4. Professor Dickson exhibited, under the microscope, 

 preparations of the drupe of Viburnum Lantana, and made some remarks re- 

 garding its structure. 5. Professor Balfour exhibited photographs of Indian 

 forest scenery, including Palms, Banyans, etc., sent by Professor Stephen Coull 

 Mackenzie, Calcutta. 6. Mrs. Wright presented a sj^ecimen oi Lythrumflexu- 

 osum, which had been gathered in the woods at Hallston, Shropshire. 7. Mr. 

 A. Craig Christie exhibited a specimen of Jrgemone odorata, collected by the 

 waterfall in Glen Easdale, Arran ; and also a specimen of a Hypericum from 

 Birk Glen, Arran, which was considered a variety of S. Androsatmum. 8. 

 Messrs. Hay, Merrick, and Co., of the Roslin Powder Mills, presented a small 

 bundle of Dogwood, used by them in the manufacture of gunpowder. 



Thursday, January \^th. — Robert Brown, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Donations to the Library, Herbarium, and Museum were laid on the table. 

 Professor Balfour noticed the deatli of Miss Jane Farquharson, who joined the 

 Society as a Lady-Associate in 1842. The following papers were read: — I. 

 Note on the Embryo of Ruscus aculeatus. By Professor Alex. Dickson. The 

 author found the embryos of this plant remarkable for their great variability 

 in size, general form, and more particularly in the orifice of the cotyledon. 

 Eegarding the last point, the majority of the specimens examined exhibited the 

 lips of the cotyledonary orifice as approximated, thus forming a "slit;" this 

 being evidently the normal arrangement, and corresponding to the ordinary 

 type of cotyledonary orifice in monocotyledons. In some cases the lips of the 

 orifice were seen to gape in a remarkable manner. In tliese embryos the 

 plumule is almost always small, rudimentary and pretty deeply sunk in the 

 cavity of the cotyledons ; in one case, however, it was observed to be very 

 much enlarged, completely filling up the cotyledonary cavity, and appearing 

 externally between the lips of the cotyledon. The paper was illustrated by 

 specimens under the microscope and by drawings. 11. Notice of Plants col- 

 lected in Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla in the summer of 1869. By Mr. 

 William Livesay. III. Notice of some Botanical Excursions with pupils 

 during the summer of 1869. By Professor Balfour. IV. On the Botany of 

 the Dominion of Canada and adjacent parts of British America. Part 1. Ra- 

 nunculacecB. By Professor Lawson, Dalhousie College, Nova Scotia. Commu- 

 nicated by Mr. Sadler. V. Oa the Propagation of the Ipecacuan Plant {Ce- 

 phaelis Tpecacuaiiha). By Mr. M'Nab. VI. Notice of Sicana odorifera, 

 Naudin. By Sen. Joaquim Correa de Mello, St. Paulo, Brazil. Communi- 



