304 BOTAJsMCAL NEAVS. 



Mr. Baker's portion of the Ferns forms the hxst pubhshecl part of Martins' 

 ' Flora BrasiUensis.' It contains the Polypodiacece and Cyatheacece, and is 

 ilhistrated by fifty plates. Many of the new species have been idready described 

 in M. Fee's ' Cryptogamie yasculaire du Bresil,' printed only a few niontlis 

 ago. 



Mr. Worthington Smith calls attention, in a letter to ' Nature,' to the fungus 

 spores figured in Dr. Bastian's recent articles on spontaneous generation, and 

 expresses his opinion, to which his intimate acquaintance with Fungi lends 

 considerable weight, " that it would be simply impossible to convince any 

 botanist that a spore such as some of those figured by Dr. Bastian, could be 

 produced from any other quarter than the liymenium of a well-defined parent." 

 With reference also to such organisms as the spiral fibres figured, all analogy 

 would lead to the expectation that if living bodies are spontaneously produced, 

 they would be of the simplest nature. It is to be hoped that further observa- 

 tion will be made, and that Mr. Smith's suggestion, that figures of the 

 bodies observed be drawn to a uniform scale, will be accepted. 



' Nature' informs vxs that Professor Hartt, of the Cornell University, " with 

 a professor of botany and nine students," intends to explore the Amazons 

 valley and part of the coast of Brazil. 



Robert Brown is a name of such exceptional weight in botany, and " R. Br." 

 is so familiar an authority to systematists, that it is well that the holder of the 

 same name who has recently written on botanical subjects and described some 

 new species, should be in some way distinguished from his great predecessor. 

 We are informed that M. De CandoUe, wlio was asked for an opinion, has sug- 

 gested, that — on the analogy of several cases of duplicate names on the Conti- 

 nent — the affix " Camp." indicating the place of birth, Campster, in Caithness, 

 of the present Robert Brown, be appended to his initials. 



Our readers will be glad to hear that Mr. Ilewett C. Watson lias got 

 well on with the printing of tlie third part — completing the book — of his 

 valuable ' Compendium of the Cybele Britannica,' and tliat it will be shortly 

 published. 



The Botanical Department of the British Museum has just acquired the 

 large collection of British and Foreign Fungi made by the Rev. A. Bloxam, 

 and named by him, Berkeley, Broome, Currey, and other botanists. 



At the approaching meeting of the British Association at Liverpool, the 

 section of Biology will be presided over by Professor RoUeston, of Oxford, 

 witli Mr. Evans and Professor Michael Foster as Vice-Presidents, and Dr. 

 Cobbold, Mr. T. J. Moore, Mr. Stainton, and the Rev. H. B. Tristram, as 

 Secretaries. 



We hear that the Belgian Government, which lately bought Von Martius's 

 great herbarium, has also purchased the Horticultural Society's garden at 

 Brussels. 



Communications have been received from Dr. Hance, Dr. Bull, J. Britten, 

 Dr. Masters, J. Sadler, J. C. Mansel, J. Cherry, Professor W. T. Dyer, 

 Rev. J. E. Leefe, M. Dowd. 



