BOOK-NOTKS, NEWS, ETC. 439 



"Edelweiss in the rockery"; and the general air of lavislmcss 

 about the Eeport makes us wish that our institutions in England 

 had as ample funds at their disposition as are evidently forthcoming 

 in connection with the Shaw iSchool of Botany. We note that the 

 Gardens are in one respect in advance of Kew, as they possess a 

 Handbook, which is largely sold to the public. Dr. Trelease also 

 contributes a Catalogue of the valuable " Pre-Linnean Library" 

 presented to the Gardens by Dr. iSturtevant in 1892. 



The Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information issued in connection 

 with the Royal Gardens, Kew, is not, as we had concluded, defunct. 

 A number bearing on its front the ficticious date "March and April, 

 189G," appeared at the end of August. It is mainly made up of 

 somewhat belated extracts from Eoreign Oftice Reports, and odds 

 and ends of official correspondence, but contains also an interesting 

 paper on " Myrrh and Bdellium," to which, although written in the 

 first person, no author's name is appended. No new species are 

 described in this issue, so the inaccuracy in dating is less mischievous 

 than in former numbers. The cover still enumerates Mr. Jackson's 

 Index among " works in preparation at the Royal Gardens, Kew"; 

 but we regret to see that the long-delayed continuation of the h'lora 

 of Tropical Africa finds no place in the list. 



Mr. Hiern is making steady progress with his enumeration of 

 the Welwitsch collections. The work is in print as far as Leiju- 

 ininoscB. It will contain a consicJerable proportion of new species, 

 and a large number of observations from Welwitsch's full and 

 careful M!S. notes, a copy of which, it will be remembered, ac- 

 companies the magnificent set of his plants in the British Museum. 

 The catalogue will form an important contribution to our knowledge 

 of West African botany. 



Herr Rudolph Schlechter, whose contributions to our know- 

 ledge of South African plants are well known to our readers, is 

 making good use of his time during the expedition in which he is 

 now engaged. Writing from Cape Town on May 9th, he announces 

 that he has already collected about 1200 species ; a trip to Elim in 

 the Bredasdorp district afforded a very interesting collection, con- 

 taining a large proportion of novelties. Even in the well-worked 

 south-western districts, Herr Schlechter considers that his novelties 

 average about ten per cent. Writing from the camp at Attyo, on 

 his way to Nama(|ualand, he speaks of other novelties, and adds : 

 "At present I have to make my way through a very bare region, 

 where they have not had any rains for about four years. It is 

 terrible to see the results of this drought. My cattle are suffering 

 and getting thinner every day, but in about three days' time I shall 

 be where they have had good rains. The plants in this dry region 

 are few in number, but very interesting, and mostly, of course, of a 

 succulent nature. As I hear the rains have only fallen in the southern 

 part of Namaqualand, I may not be able to get as far north as I had 

 hoped ; but as it is a part which has been very little explored, it 

 should yield a good proportion of novelties." 



