32G THR JOURNAL OF BOTAIfY 



lias been gradually collected and ]n\t together by European herbalists 

 and systeraatists of the past, to be crystallized with difficulty in more 

 recent literature. The cultivated strains may of course be largely 

 conventional, of unkno^vn origin and of wholl}'' unknown antiquity, 

 thus rendering the isolation of the elementary species a labour of the 

 future, before selection and hybridization by modern methods can be 

 put on a satisfactory footing. It is interesting to note the reproduc- 

 tions of the oldest recognizable figures of the plants, as the ' Xjdon ' 

 {G. Iierhaceum) of Fuchsius (1542) and Matthiolus (1568), for com- 

 parison with the * Gotnemsegiar ' {G. arhoreum) of Alpinus (1592), 

 and the * Ychcaxihuitl ' {G. mexicaiium) of Ximenes (1651), as 

 illustrating the earliest-known strains ; as also the early significance 

 of the last as a textile in the New World, as compared with the inde- 

 pendent evolution of the Old- World cottons in India, and the later 

 extension of G. herlaceum to Europe and Africa. 



The economic species of Cotton are essentially tro])ical, and 

 it is difficult to get an idea of them at their best in this country, but 

 the future of Gossypium in colonial dependencies is assured, and 

 everything bearing on the organization of so highly specialized a 

 herbaceous type, which resj^onds so readily to changes in the environ- 

 ment, has a significance beyond present estimation in the future 

 control of tropical agriculture. 



The arrangement of the bibliographical list leaves something to be 

 desired. It begins with " Herodotus, Historia. Ed. Kawlinson. 

 Murray, 1858 " ; it would have been better, we think, to have given 

 the date of the original, while indicating the edition used. Mr. Henry 

 Lee's little volume on The Vegetnble Lamb of Tartary : a Ciiriotis 

 Fable of the Cotton Plant (London, 1887) seems to have escaped 

 Mr. Denham's notice and should be referred to should his essay 

 reach another edition. 



BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, etc. 



Some months ago a committee, of which Sir David Prain was 

 chairman, was appointed to consider what steps could be taken to 

 increase the usefulness of the Royal Botanic Society, which was in- 

 corporated in 1839 and holds a lease of eighteen acres in Kegent's 

 Park. From the published report we learn that the committee have 

 formed the opinion that the Society could be made more useful both 

 from the scientific and educational point of view by the establisliinent 

 of: — (1) A school of economic botan}-, at which a knowledge of tlie 

 economic plants and their products, including those of tropical regions, 

 might be obtained; (2) an institute which might be made a centre 

 for research, more especiall}^ in plant physiology, where the living 

 plant is essential; (3) a centre for teaching in horticulture, the 

 students of Avhich could receive their necessary training in ])ure 

 science at existing London colleges ; (4) courses in school gardening, 

 at times suitable for teachers in elementary, continuation, and otlier 

 schools. In addition, the committee consider that the Gardens might 



