BOTANICAL NEWS. 883 



ticultiire, to be called ' The Garden,' under the editorship of Mr. W. 

 Kobiuson. 



Priiicipal Dawson's paper on the " Fossil Plants of the Devonian and 

 Upper Silurian Formations of Canada," wliich was read last year before 

 the Roval Society, and an abstract of which was publislied in their " Pro- 

 ceedings," has been issued entire, in the form of a Report by the Geolo- 

 p^ical Survey of Canada. The memoir is illustrated by 20 plates, and 

 describes no less than 120 " species" of plants older than the Carboni- 

 ferous period. 



Dr. Lindberg, of Helsino^fors, has published in tlie tenth volume of the 

 ' Acta Sooietatis 8cienti;e Fennicaj,' a critical version of all the Mosses 

 that have been figured in the ' Flora Danica.' 



The Council of the Royal Society has awarded one of the Roval medals 

 to Dr. John Steidiouse, F.R.S., whose researches on the acids of Lichens 

 have been more than once alluded to in our pages. 



Mr. Weir is distributing the sets of Mosses gathered by him in South 

 America, chiefly in Brazil and New Granada, authentically named bv Mr. 

 Mitten according to his enumeration, published in the Journal of the 

 Linnean Society. The highest set runs up to 400 numbers. Several 

 sets are for disposal, and any of our readers who wish to subscribe should 

 communicate at once with Mr. Weir, Hadley High Stone, Barnet 

 Herts. 



On Thursday, November 16, Mr. Raker gave a lecture on Agricultural 

 Weeds, at the Pul)lic Hall, Ucigate, to the members of the Hohnesdale 

 Natural History Club and Reigate Mechanics' Institute. 



We extract from the ' Daily News' llie following case of poisoniui;- bv 

 Fungi:— "The Rev. W. F. Welch, vicar of Stadsett, Norfolk, has "dieil 

 under painful circumstances. He found some Fungi by the side of the 

 Tiietford Road, which he presumed was (!) eatable. He gave some to a 

 Miss (jibbs, and took some home himself. On the following day both 

 Miss (iil)bs and the rev. gentleman ate some of the Fungi, and in" a few 

 hours they were seized with vomiting. Mr. Welch appeared for a time 

 to revive, but dangerous symptoms again presented themselves, and after 

 a few hours of renewed suil'i-ring he died. Miss Gibbs is recoveriiif." 



In our third volume (p. 28) will be found a notice of the raising of a 

 heavy slab of paving-stone in the Goswell Road by a large mass of 

 Agaricun (TrichoJoma) cartUngl tints. Bull. The same species lias been re- 

 cently performing tlie same feat in Whitehall Gardens. Mr. D. Woostcr 

 our informant, says, " I had several times noticed that the flagstones were 

 being raised by something from beneath, and on the 13th of October I 

 found three men engaged in taking up the raised flags, when masses of 

 the Agaric were discovered to be the cause of the u])heaval. Some of the 

 flags raised were of good size, and must be of considerable weight." We 

 may add that the Aicaricus had developed its gills and fructiflcafiftn, 

 whilst the plant in the (ioswell Road was but a mass of mycelium. 



In the third part of volume thirteen of the ' Nouveanx Memoires de la 

 Societe imperiale des Nat. de Moscou,' M. Kauft'mann has publislied an 

 account of the Sumbul root of Persia. This has been for some time 

 known to be the produce of some umbelliferous plant. A living root has 



