TRAIl^SACTIONS. 



The twenty-first annual meeting of the Kansas Academy of Science was held in 

 the Board of Trade rooms in the city of Leavenworth, beginning on the evening of 

 October 31, 1888, and continuing through the two days following. 



The first evening session was devoted to an exhibition of microscopes and micro- 

 scopic work; and the display of instruments and specimens was large and creditable. 



The evening of November 1 was given to a lecture by Mr. Robert Hay, upon "The 

 Geology of Kansas." An abstract of this lecture appears in the following pages. 



The annual election of officers resulted in the choice of the following members 

 for the offices named: President, T. H. Dinsmore, Jr.; Vice Presidents, E. H. S. 

 Bailey, G. H. Failyer; Secretary, E. A. Popenoe; Treasurer, I. D. Graham; Librarian, 

 B. B. Smyth; Curators, A.. H. Thompson, V. L. Kellogg, H. W. Birchmore, Robert 

 Hay, and E. A. Kilian. Fifteen names were added to the roll of active members. 



At the sessions of this meeting were read, among others, the following pajiers: 



ON THE DISCOVERY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF STIPULES IN CERTAIN 

 DICOTYLEDONOUS LEAVES OF THE DAKOTA ROCKS. 



BY PROF. F. H. SNOW, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS. 



At the last meeting of this Academy, I presented a paper upon the species of fos- 

 sil leaves of the Kansas Dakota rocks represented in the museum of the University 

 of Kansas. The list of plants accompanying that paper included upwards of one 

 hundred species new to science. One of these species, of the new genus Betulite.s, 

 according to Lesquereux, but referable to Viburnum according to Saporta, is named 

 by Lesquereux Betulites Vestii, in honor of the indefatigable collector of these fossils, 

 Mr. E. P. West, whose remarkable success has made the University collection of Da- 

 kota fossils the largest and finest in the world. This species of Betulites is repre- 

 sented in our collection by no less than twelve distinct varieties, each of which has 

 been indicated by a separate name by Lesquereux. A large proportion of the speci- 

 mens of this very variable species are found to be provided with stipules, which leaf 

 appendages were not previously known to be connected with the Dakota leaves. 

 These stipules instead of being uniformly in pairs, one upon each side of the base of 

 the petiole, as is the case in living Dicotyledons provided with these appendages, are 

 either single, in which case they may be entire, cleft or parted, or they are, in occa- 

 sional instances, entirely divided, constituting a pair of stipules. But whether single 

 or divided, they are nearly always unilateral, i. e., situated upon one side of the leaf 

 stem or petiole. In only one instance among at least one hundred stipulate leaves 

 examined are the stipules bilateral, so that their unilateral character fairly distin- 

 guishes them from the stipules of modern Dicotyledons. 



The significance of the discovery of these cretaceous stipules, lies in the fact that 

 we have here an additional proof of the descent of oar modern forms of vegetation 

 'from the ancient forms by a gradual series of changes. To the superficial ob- 

 —3 ( 33 ) 



