24 



ment, I say they are produced independently of the spores. On 

 one of the plants before you there is a frond bearing a young one 

 which I have watched for some months, and before noticing its 

 progression you will observe that the parent plant has not yet 

 produced spores. Soon after it was planted I noticed at this 

 point a small spot of a lighter green than the rest of the pinnule, 

 and on watching I observed the vein which runs through it 

 gradually form into a little rounded mass, immediately nearer the 

 base of the pinnule, while the epidermis became raised into the 

 form of a little nodule. On several of the fronds of these plants 

 you may observe these rounded bulbils. This increased to the 

 size of a small pin-head when the epidermis became torn, and a 

 tiny frond made its appearance, which is now after five months' 

 growth about half an inch long and forked at the top. When 

 this increases to a convenient size it may be separated from the 

 parent by cutting off the pinnule to which it is attached, planting 

 it in a suitable place, and covering it with a glass shade for a 

 shoi-t time. I should like to have made a section through the 

 point of attachment, and examined it with a high power, but as 

 the plant is too young I must wait until a future occasion, when 

 I hope to perform that delicate operation. 



Tongland, with Notes of its Flora. — Mr F. R. Coles read a paper 

 entitled "Tongland, with Notes of its Flora." The paper com- 

 prised a survey of the many varied and beautiful 4andscape 

 features of the parish, which lies in a triangle formed by the river 

 Dee, the " Twynholm" Hills, and the streams forming the Spout 

 of Auchentalloch and the Tai-ff, respectively on the east, north, 

 and western boundaries. Within this .space some 305 species of 

 Flowering Plants had been collected by the author, exclusive of 

 Junci, Cyperacese, and Graminse. The rocky bank of the Dee 

 and the hill region were especially rich in plants ; but several 

 maritime and semi-maritime species were also found, owing to the 

 high level of the tide at the junction of the Tarff and Dee. 

 Among the rarer or more interesting plants to be found in Tong- 

 land are several varieties of Banunculus aquatiles, Lychnis 

 vespertina, Geranium lucidum, Enonymus Europoius, Foterium sanguis- 

 orba, Epilohium hirsutum, Valeriana dioica, Valerianella dentata, 

 Andromeda polyfolia, Myosotis palustris, var. Strigulosa, Origanum 

 vidgare, Primula veris, Serratida tincioria. 



Notes on Local Ornithology. — Mr R. Service read a paper 



