ARTICLES IN JOURNALS. 221 



can hardly be accepted as a trustworthy test. The red colour 

 at the base of the plants of Lolium perenne is often very striking, 

 but it is not always present, and in some cases the colour approaches 

 more to the shade which Mr. McAlpine attributes to Alopecurus 

 pratensis. In this the colour is even less marked, and it is only 

 after examining a large number of plants that the grey colour can 

 be distinguished. 



The identification of the grasses by the leaf-structure is, of 

 course, much more satisfactory, but this needs too minute examin- 

 ation to be of much practical value to any but the scientific 

 expert. For accurate determination one of the most important 

 parts of the leaf is the ligule, which usually bears characteristic 

 differences in each species ; but to determine the constituents of a 

 ten acre field, by examining the ligule of every plant, would be too 

 great an undertaking even for a scientific farmer. Mr. McAlpine's 

 woodcuts of the structure of our British grasses, with the exception 

 of those from Stecker and Lund, are rather rough, and in some 

 cases, especially in the sketches of the apices of blades, do not 

 give much help in the work of identification. In the sketch of 

 Lolium perenne, the ligule seems to be nearly absent, whereas it is 

 usually from \ to 1^ mm. in length. Mr. McAlpine must, however, 

 be congratulated in being the first in this country to bring forward 

 this difficult subject iu a more or less practical form ; and though 

 the process of determining the different species is not so easy as it 

 seems from reading Mr. McAlpine's book, yet his handbook will no 

 doubt lead many to discover for themselves means of differentiating 

 the constituents of our pastures at any season of the year. 



J. B. Carruthers. 



Articles in Journals. 



Bot. Centralblatt (N os. 21-25). — E. Biinger, ' Beitrage zur 

 Anatomie der Laubmooskapsel.' — J. Roll, ' Ueber die Warnstorf'sche 

 Acutifolium-grxippe der europaischen Torfmoose.' — (Nos. 21,22). 

 J. Boehm, ' Ueber Ursache der Wasserbewegung in transpiri- 

 renden Pflanzen.* — (No. 21). M. Kronfeld, ' Schaftblatter bei 

 Taraxacum officinale. ' 



Botanical Gazette (May). — B. D. Halsted, ' Stamens oiSolanacetc 

 (1 plate). — G. Vasey, 'A new grass' (Uhachidospermum, gen. nov., 

 1 plate). — W. J. Beal, ' Grasses in the wrong genus.'— J. N. Bose, 

 'Notes on Periti/le' (1 plate). — 'An International Congress of 

 Botanists.' — C. Macmillan, ' Relation of light to epinasty in Solanum 

 tuberosum.' — 0. Rodham, 'Netted septa in vessels of Tecoma 

 radicans.' 



Botaniska Notiser (haft. 3). — H. W. Arnell, ' Om nigra Junger- 



mannia ventricosa Dicks. nai-st;iende lefvermossarter.' — J. Lindwall, 

 ' Om nagra enskildes herbarier i norden 1772.' — R. Jungner, ' Ett 

 fall af fasciation hos Berberis vulgaris.' — JL Starbiick, ' Nagra 

 mykologiska notiser.' — A. G. Kellgren, ' Studier cifver Ombcrgs- 

 florans papilionaceer.' — J. A. 0. Skarman, ' Salic hastata x repens, 



