1869.] Chemisiry. 103 



Trimen, of St. Mary's Hospital, London, and by Professor Thiselton 

 Dyer, of Cirencester College, will be speedily sent to press, and 

 may be expected to be published by Mr. Hardwicke early this 

 year. The work will not be a mere record of the occurrence of 

 species, but much pains has been given to tracing out the origin 

 of the Flora as far as possible, and (what is interesting from an 

 antiquarian point of view) the former extension of species over parts 

 of Middlesex now become London. This sort of observation has, 

 too, a great value in connection with the causes of the extinction of 

 species. 



Flora of Buds. — A second ' List of Buckinghamshire Plants,' 

 including the additions which have been made to the known Flora 

 of the county during the past year, will shortly be published. It 

 is requested that anyone possessing information on the subject in 

 his possession will forward the same to James Britten, High 

 Wycombe. 



Chair of Botany at Dublin. — Professor Dickson having ac- 

 cepted the Chair of Botany at Glasgow University, the lectureship 

 in the College of Science and the professorship in Trinity College, 

 Dubhn, became vacant. Dr. Perceval Wright, Professor of Zoology 

 in Trinity College, was the natural successor of his late colleague to 

 the more valuable post. Dr. Wright is well known as a teacher of 

 botany, and an original explorer in botanical science as in zoology. 

 For some reason, however. Dr. Wyville Thompson, of the Queen's 

 College, Belfast, is selected for the Government appouitment, and 

 therefore for the University chair also. 



University of Vienna. — The celebrated botanist. Dr. Karsten, 

 of Berlin, has been elected to the Chair of Vegetable Physiology at 

 Vienna, vacated by the retirement from office of Dr. F. Unger. 



5. CHEMISTRY. 



(Including! the Proceedings of the Chemical Society.) 



The preparation of oxygen has ah-eady been alluded to in these 

 Chronicles on more than one occasion, and several processes have 

 been described by which this gas may be obtained indirectly from 

 the atmosphere. Closely alhed to the preparation of oxygen on a 

 large scale is that of chlorine, and it has recently been announced 

 that a Belgian chemist has devised a new process for generating 

 this gas. He first forms sulphate of sesquioxide of iron, by the 

 direct combination of this oxide with sulphm'ic acid, and then mixes 

 the sulphate obtained mth tlii'ee equivalents of chloride of sodium 

 or other convenient chloride. Upon heating the mixture in dry 

 air, the chloride of sodium is said to yield all its chlorine. 



