[pBNHALLow] A REVIEW OF CANADIAN BOTANY 19 



Botanical Club. 



At the meeting of the Royal Society of Canada, held at Montreal in 

 1891, Dr. George Lawson, of Halifax, introduced to the fourth section a 

 question relative to the expediency of establishing a botanical society for 

 the whole Dominion. Upon the report of a special conimittee, the section 

 adopted a resolution favouring the organization of such an association to 

 be affiliated with the Royal Society on the same terms as other societies. 

 It was thus that the Botanical Club of Canada came into existence, with 

 Dr. Lawson as its first president and Dr. A. II. MacKay, of Halifax, as its 

 secretary. The scheme of organization contemplated the appointment of 

 a secretary for each province, by whom the work would be distributed 

 through the medivam of local secretaries in such districts as would war- 

 rant their appointment. 



The annual report for 1895 shows that in the three years of its exis- 

 tence, the club has accomplished a large amount of good work, and that 

 its usefulness is growing year by yeai-. The membership at the present 

 time numbers 201, and is steadily increasing. The work of the club is 

 largely directed toward stimulating an interest in the study of botany 

 among the pupils of the various schools throughout the country, and to 

 this end both encouragement and assistance are given in the study of 

 various local floras, and in the formation of herbaria. Plants requiring 

 determination are sent to the secretary of each province, or to Prof. 

 Macoun at Ottawa, who has kindly undertaken to do a large share of 

 this work. Apart fi'om this purely educational work, the club has also 

 undertaken a series of phœnological observations, which will continue 

 for a long series of years, and which in course of time must prove of 

 great scientific value. 



Scientific Societies. 



In addition to those societies which are designed jjrimarily or 

 wholly for the cultivation of botanical science, we find a number of 

 others which include botany among the various subjects with which 

 they deal. The most important of these are the New Brunswick Natural 

 History Societ}'; The Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club ; The Hamilton Asso- 

 ciation for the Promotion of Science, Literature and Art; The Nova 

 Scotia Institute of Science ; The Canadian Institute ; The Natural His- 

 tory Society of British Columbia. All of these societies have exei-ted 

 an important influence in the development of Canadian botany, and 

 their publications contain many valuable contributions to this subject, 

 notably those of the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club ; The Natural His- 

 tory Society of Montreal ; and the New Brunswick Natural History 



