Proceedings of the Botanical Society. 429 



These societies have gradually increased in importance, and 

 their usefulness has been much extended by the rich libraries 

 and the museums attached to some of them. 



The following list of these societies will afford to the public 

 an opportunity of judging of the extent of this branch of our 

 University system, which, highly as it is esteemed, is not so ge- 

 nerally known as it deserves. 



Societies formed by, a7id conducted under the management qf^ 

 the Students in the University of Edinburgh. 



Medical— \. Royal Medical. 2. Hunterian. 3. Anato- 

 mical. 



Natural History.—'^. Royal Physical, which embraces Ge- 

 neral Natural History and Chemistry. 5. Plinian— General 

 Natural History, and Natural History of Scotland. 6. Cuvie- 

 rJan — Zoology and Geology. 7. Botanical. 



Natural Philosophy. ~S. Physical and Mathematical. 



Literature. — 9. Speculative, and some minor societies. 

 ^ We do not include in our list the Law and Theological So- 

 cieties. 



Having been requested by the Botanical Society to allow an 

 abstract of their scientific proceedings to appear in this Journal, 

 we do so with great pleasure, from knowing that this public re- 

 cord of its proceedings cannot but be useful to the Society, and 

 also gratifying to the lovers of botany. 



Uth Janmry 1838.-Professor Graham, President, in the Chair. 

 Mr R. W. Falconer read a paper on " the ancient history of the 

 Rose m which he gave an account of the rose trees mentioned 

 and described by the Greek and Roman writers of antiquity ; also 

 of the modes m which roses were cultivated, their periods of flow- 

 enng, and the various uses to which they were applied. Theo- 

 phras us and Phny appear to have given the fullest account of the 

 rose, the former enumerating five kinds of roses, the latter fifteen 

 eleven of which, he says, were familiarly known to the Romans! 

 After comparing the descriptions given by these authors with those 

 of Dioscondes, CIusius and other writers, Mr Falconer proceeded 



Icfrf'"'^,"""' -^ *'*" "r'^"' ^"^^"^ «•• rose plantaLns, col. 

 lected from the various works of Pliny, Columella, and Palladius- 

 also of the nrieans employed for propagating and forcing rose men-* 

 .oned by TheophrastusDidymus, Pliny, Ld Seneca.^ TheS 

 rent localities renowned for their roses were next stated ; Vian- 

 der, Athen^us, and Pliny, bein^ the principal authorities on this 



VOL. XXIV. NO. XLVIII.— APRIL 1838. p f 



