192 BOTAXrCAL XEW8. 



The volume will also contain the Professor's arrangement of the 

 European p:enera and a monograph of Racomitrium, &c. 



Dr. J. P. Norrlin, of Helsingfors, in conjunction with Prof, ^^y- 

 lander, has now ready four parts of ** Lichens Fenniae Exsiccatse," 

 ccntaining 200 forms beautifully selected and mounted. They are 

 intended only for public institutions. 



Mr. Trail has returned from South America, and is now engaged 

 arranging his botanical collections at Kew. This gentleman has done 

 something in the investigation of the life history of the diverse 

 species of ants which inhabit various parts of different plants ; and 

 we believe he has some interesting new facts to communicate to the 

 scientific world. 



An excellent chart of the Arctic regions has been published by the 

 Admiralty to accompany the official Papers and Correspondence on the 

 Arctic Expedition, and those interested in polar explorations should 

 possess themselves of it. The price is one shilling. The discoveries 

 of recent explorations by the American, Austrian, and German expedi- 

 tions are entered, and the map will be most useful in tracing the 

 course of the vessels of the English expedition which left Portsmouth 

 on the 29th. 



Among the visitors to the Discoverij and Alert before their departure 

 was Professor Nordenskiold, who has charge of an expedition to N'ovaia 

 Zemlia to investigate the geology and natural history of those islands. 

 This expedition, which has been fitted out by a merchant of Gothen- 

 burg, will leave Tromsoe early in June, and it is intended to explore 

 the west coasts of ISTovaia Zemlia and the unknown part of the Polar 

 Sea to the north-east, afterwards coming southwards to the mouths of 

 the Obi and Jenisei. 



A new work on medicinal plants is announced to be published in 

 monthly parts commencing next October. Original coloured illustra- 

 tions of the principal species employed in medicine, about 300 in 

 number, will be given, the figures being where practicable drawn from 

 nature, and the accompanying descriptions will be made by Professor 

 Bentley and Dr. Trimen. Each part will contain eight coloured 

 plates, with letterpress ; and subscriptions (at 5s. a part, post 

 free) will be received by the publishers, Messrs. Churchill, New 

 Burlington Street. 



Among those selected for the F.R.S. this year are W. Archer, of 

 Dublin, the author of numerous memoirs and researches in the Algae, 

 and Dr. Brandis, whose Forest-Elora of India was recently noticed in 

 our pages. 



Dr. Masters has been appointed one of the examiners in Botany 

 at the University of London. 



The death on March 20th is announced of Dr. Peder Andreas 

 Christian Heiberg, best known by his ** Conspectus criticus Dia- 

 tomacearum Danicarum," published in 1863. 



The collections of the late Rev. R, T. Lowe are to be divided between 

 the herbaria of Kew and the British Museum, the former taking any 

 uniques. These specimens are important as containing the types of 

 Mr. Lowe's (unfortunately incomplete) '' Manual Flora of Madeira." 



"VVe understand that a somewhat similar bequest of his collections 

 was made by Mr. D. Hanbury. He also left by will £100 each to 

 the libraries of the Linnean and Pharmaceutical Societies. 



