243 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



in the great majority of cases from living specimens. They are also 

 accompanied by dissections of any complex part of the flower, and 

 a reprint of the monograph of the genus by J. G. Baker, which 

 has already appeared in our columns (vol. viii., p. 97), corrected and 

 revised by the author up to the date of present knowledge. Thus 

 not only will Mr. Burbidge's work be welcomed on the drawing- 

 room table by the amateur, but to the student it will be a most 

 valuable book of reference. It contains also a large amount of ad- 

 ditional information about the history, characters, poetry, culture, 

 and hybridisation of the plants, and is intended to be followed by 

 similar treatises on Crocus, Iris, and Uosa. H. B. 



^rocccbins^ of ^ocictic^* 



LiNNEAN Society, April 15th. — Dr. G. J. AUman, President, in 

 the chair. — Prof. A. Dickson, of Glasgow, Mr. J. F. Duthie, and Mr. 

 C. H. Sorby were elected fellows. The following papers were read : — 

 *' On the Diatomacece collected by Mr. H. N. Moseley in Kerguelens 

 Land," by the Rev. E. O'Meara. — '' On an edible Chinese Sphaeria, 

 known as ' winter worm-grass,' parasitic on certain larvae," by H. JS". 

 Moseley. Mr. Currey stated this to be Torruhia sinensis. — *' On 

 the Musci and Hepaticos collected by Mr. H. ^. Moseley in 

 Teneriffe, Tristan d'Acunha, Kerguelens Land, &c.," by W. Mitten. 

 ('* Challenger " papers, Nos. 25, 26, 27.) — '* On Algae collected by the 

 Rev. "W. W. Gill near the Island of Mangara," by Prof. Dickie. — 

 '* List of Plants collected by Dr. A. B. Meyer in New Guinea in 1873," 

 by Prof. Oliver. These were only ten in number, two being new 

 species. 



Majj 6th. — Dr. G. J. Allman, President, in the chair. The follow- 

 ing paper was read: — "On the Characteristic Colouring Matter of 

 the Red Groups of Algce," by H. C. Sorby. The author gave an 

 account of the leading characters of the various blue, purple, and red 

 substances, soluble in water, characteristic of the Red Algae. The 

 compound nature of the solutions obtained is proved by the various 

 decomposing actions of heat upon them. The Oscillatoriece and 

 Fhridem yield closely related colouring matters, which, however, pre- 

 sent clearly marked differences. 



June Srd. — Dr. Allman, President, in the chair. The President 

 nominated as vice-presidents for the year Mr. Busk, Dr. Hooker, Mr. 

 Bentham, and Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys. Prof. Dyer exhibited living 

 specimens of Stcphanosph(cra fltiviatilis, an alga closely allied to 

 Yolvox, sent by Mr. Archer, of Dublin, from the only British locality, 

 a small pond at Bray Head, AVicklow. Dr. Trimen exhibited speci- 

 mens of two recent additions to the British Phanerogamic Flora, 

 Carex ornithopoda, from Derbyshire,* and a Zannichelliay considered by 



* See p. 193 and tab. 164. 



