BOTANICAL NEWS. 383 



logous organs a certain number of them are regularly modified in 

 consequence of a diiference in the functions they are called upon to 

 perform, when it may be convenient to describe them under a different 

 name. "With regard to Grasses, the author maintains the terminology 

 first adopted by him in the "Handbook of the British Flora," the 

 " lower palea " of most descriptive botanists being regarded as a glume ; 

 he sums up —that the spikelets of Grmninecu may be described as 

 composed of a series of alternate glumes, distichously imbricated along 

 the axis ; one, two, or rarely more at the base of the spikelets, and 

 sometimes a few at the end empty, the others having each a sessile flower 

 in their axil ; the short floral axis bearing a palea, two or rarely three 

 lodicules, and three rarely two or six stamens under the terminal ovary. 



" Supplemental and Concluding Notice of Marine Algso, collected 



by Mr. Moseley, of the Challenger Expedition." By Professor Dickie. 

 These had been obtained from various localities during the voyage. 

 One species of Corallinacem, Litliothamnion imbricatum^ is new, but 

 all the other specimens, some fifty in number, are already 

 known, their interest lying in their geographical distribution. 



Dr. R. C. A. Prior called the attention of the Fellows to some 



specimens of Dahlia. These possessed no special structural pecu- 

 liarities ; but, with respect to their colour, he had been surprised to find 

 that some thirty-four individuals having been asked their opinion, gave 

 thirteen difterent names or shades of colour to the flowers in question. 

 Hence arises the interrogation, is appreciation of colour interfered 

 with in a majority of cases by the occurrence of colour-blindness ? 

 Or, again, so far as plants are concerned, are the so-called diff'erentiu- 

 tion of tints but haphazard guesses, distinctive lines of demarcation or 

 agreement as to names for definite shades being not yet arrived at ? 



25otanical |5cto^. 



Articles in Joitenal?. — October. 



Scottish Naturalist.— Y. Buchanan White, "Botanical excursion 

 to Loch Clunie, Perthshire." 



(Esterr. Bot. Zeitschr. — L. Celakovsky, "Botanical notes" 

 (contd., Silene candicans, n.s.). — A. Kerner, " Distribution of Hunga- 

 rian plants " (contd.). — S. Schulzer v. Muggenberg, " Mycological 

 notes" (contd.). — M. Stossich, " Excursion in littoral Croatia." — 

 — F. Antoine, "Botany at the Vienna Exhibition" (contd.). 



Bot. Zeitung. — Schenk, " On the receptacle in fossil E(iuisetace£e ? 

 SphenophyllmnJ'' — J. Eriksson, " On the growing point of Dicotyle- 

 donous roots " (contd.) — 0. Behrendsen, " On the Flora of the north- 

 east Zemplin districts." 



Flora. — J. Miiller, " Rubiaceae Brasilienses nova3." — C. Kraus, 

 " Mechanism of the direction of growth of young rootlets." — A, de 

 Krempelhuber, " Lichenes Brasilienses" (contd,). 



Hedwigia.—^. Sorokin, " Farther on the distribution of Cronar- 

 tium rihicola.''' — Id., "On some new forms of Entomophthora.'" — 

 Krempelhuber, " Lichenes Mexicani." — Sauter, " New Fungi." 



