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XIX. — The Linnean Society's Thajs-sactions. 



Tbajs'sactioxs of the Lin]s^ean Society or Londoj^. Vol. XXIV. 

 4to. London, 1863-4. 



The Linnean Society stands confessedly at the head of all English 

 institutions for the promotion of Biological researches. In thus 

 saying, we reproach no other scientific body. The objects of the 

 Eoyal Society are of a more general, those of the Geological and 

 Zoological Societies, of a more special character. All these Societies 

 issue quarto volumes of ' Transactions.' But the Transactions of 

 the Linnean Society alone are wholly devoted to the two great 

 departments of Biological Science, Botany and Zoology. 



The volume of ' Linnean Transactions,' just brought to a con- 

 clusion, includes three separate Parts, published during the years 

 1863-4. The first volume of Transactions appeared in 1791 ; the 

 twenty-fourth, and last, at the close of the past year. On an aver- 

 age, therefore, three years has been the period of gestation for 

 each volume. Henceforward, we may expect one every alternate 

 year. 



The present volume numbers 532 pages and 59 plates. There 

 are, in all, 27 separate communications. But, as one of these is 

 merely a note to its predecessor, and two others form successive 

 portions of the same series of records, the real number of papers 

 may be estimated at 25. Looking through these papers, we find an 

 absence of any on Vertebrate or Coelenterate animals, while Crypto- 

 gamic Botany is represented solely by Mr. Currey's * Notes on 

 British Fungi.' With these restrictions, the volume displays a 

 considerable diversity of subject-matter. Of the 25 papers, 15 are 

 zoological and 10 botanical. The former include 388 pages, the 

 latter 142. But this discrepancy is chiefly caused by the excessive 

 dimensions of one zoological memoir, Mr. A. Murray's ' Monograph 

 of the Eamily of Nitidulariae,' which extends to 204 pages, and 

 was originally designed as one of the Catalogues of the British 

 Museum. 



In the following comments we shall refer to many of the papers 

 under abbreviated titles. Of the ten on Botany, six may be set 

 down as purely descriptive or nearly so, and the remaining four as 

 morphological and physiological, namely, — 



1. Hooker — On Welwitschia. 



2. Saltee — On certain Monstrous Passion-flowers. 



3. Haeley — On the parasitism of the Mistletoe. 



