June 1905.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 101 
MEETING OF THE SOCIETY, 
Thursday, June 8, 1905. 
Professor I. Baytgy Baurour, President, in the Chair. 
The death of Dr. DELPrno of Bologna, Foreign Fellow of 
the Society, was intimated. 
My. Joun Incu, junior, Howburn, Biggar, was balloted for 
as a Resident Fellow and duly elected. 
Mr. R. N. RupMosE Brown read a paper on “ The Botany 
of the South Orkneys.” He pointed out that the flora of 
these islands consisted chiefly of mosses and lichens, as was 
to be expected. The grass reported by Weddell as a native 
of these islands, Mr. Brown believed to have been a lichen. 
Of the twelve species of lichens found, Mr. Brown exhibited 
one—Placodivm fruticulosum, Darbish., which is new to 
science. 
THe Borany OF THE SouTH Orkneys. By R. N. 
RupMosE Brown, B.Se., C. H. Wricut, F.L.S., and O. V. 
DARBISHIRE. 
I. Inrropucrory. By R. N. Rupmosz Brown, B-Sc., 
Botanist of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. 
The small group of islands known as the South Orkneys 
are situated between 60° and 61° S. and 44° and 47° W., about 
600 miles S.E. by E. of the Falkland Islands, and about 
200 miles east of the nearest islands of the South Shetlands. 
They were discovered in 1821 by Powell in the sloop 
“ Dove,” and were subsequently visited by Weddell in the 
brigs “Jane” and “ Beaufoy” in 1823, by Dumont d’Urville 
in the “ Astrolabe” in 1838, and by Larsen in the whaler 
“ Jason” in 1893. 
In February 1903 the Scottish National Antarctic Expe- 
dition in the ship “Scotia” made a landing on Saddle Island 
—the most northerly island of the group—on their way 
to the south. In the end of March the same year the 
