BOTANICAL NEWS. 255 



ment of Science and Art, the Geological Survey, and some other esta- 

 blishments. The report and evidence give a great deal of information 

 on the organisation of these various institutions, about which very 

 little is generally known, the paltry character of the salaries given 

 to the bulk of the officers (which has long been a scandal) excepted. 

 The Commissioners' recommendations are carefully considered, and if 

 adopted would do much towards remedying the present ungenerous 

 treatment of the scientiiic servants of the State in these institutions. 



On July 7th, the case of ** The King of Portugal v. Justen and 

 Carruthers," which has reference to the late Dr. Welwitsch's West 

 African collections, again came before the Court of Chancery, having 

 stood over on the suggestion of Vice-Chan cellor Hall, with a view 

 tu some arrangement being come to between the parties. Mr. South- 

 gate, Q.C., Mr. Chitty, Q.C., and Mr. Walter Phillimore were for 

 the plaintiff, and at the conclusion of their arguments in support of 

 the bill, Mr. Dickinson, Q.C. (with whom were Mr. Daniel Jones and 

 Mr. Gregory Walker), commenced to address the Court for the defendants. 

 As the Yice-Chancellor again more than once suggested that the case 

 was a proper one for compromise, Mr. Dickinson, on behalf of the 

 defendants, proposed the following terms : — That the " study 

 set," with all the MS. notes, &c., relating to it be handed 

 over to the plaintiff on the following conditions : — The first set with 

 copies of all the MS. notes, &c., to be presented to the British Museum ; 

 the second set to go to the plaintiff; the remaining sets to be distri- 

 buted to the legatees in accordance with Dr. AVelwitsch's will, the 

 distribution to be made by a botanist agreed upon by both parties at 

 the cost of the plaintiff; the plaintiff to pay to the defendants £1195, 

 being one quarter of the salary which would have accrued to Dr. 

 Welwitsch if he had remained in the employment of the Portuguese 

 Government till the time of his death ; and the Bill to be dismissed 

 without costs. The counsel for the plaintiff said he was not authorised 

 to accept this, and must communicate with the Portuguese Govern- 

 ment on the subject, and the case therefore again stood over, the Vice- 

 Chan cellor observing that he desired the propositions of the defendants 

 to be fully considered, and intimating that if they were not accepted 

 he should expect some counter proposals to be made. 



A Local Directory for High Wycombe and the neighbourhood , 

 which has just been issued, is an advance upon most similar publica - 

 tions in the space which it devotes to the natural history of the di s- 

 trict. Mr. Britten contributes a sketch of the Flora of the neighbour- 

 hood, in which the localities of the rarer plants are given, and there 

 are also papers on local geology, entomology, and ornithology. 



The Watford Natural History Society and Hertfordshire Field 

 Club have printed the first part of their " Transactions." Mr. 

 Arthur Cottam contributes " Notes on the Plora of the Watford 

 District," and Mr. R. A. Pryor's " Notes on a proposed Reissue of the 

 Flora of Hertfordshire " (see page 126) are reprinted, with supplemen- 

 tary remarks on the botany of the Watford district. It is most re- 

 markable that there are nearly a hundred species recorded in the 

 *' Flora of Middlesex " from the northern part of that county not yet 



