Dec. 1891.] THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 219 



Luzula arcuata, Swartz, And during our excursion to 

 Connemara, Dr Stuart discovered the heath which bears his 

 name, a variety never previously described in so far as 

 known to the members of the Club. All these were original 

 discoveries, and deserve a permanent place in the records of 

 Botanical Science. 



In conclusion, I think it right to mention that at the 

 business meeting of the Club reference was made to the 

 great loss the Club had sustained since its previous meeting 

 by the death of Mr Archibald Gibson, one of the original 

 members of the Club. Mr Gibson had on several occasions 

 granted privileges to the Club, which in his official capacity 

 as Secretary to the Caledonian Eailway he was enabled to 

 do. He was, moreover, a man of a most genial disposition, 

 and was universally beloved by all who knew him. His 

 death is a great loss to the Club, and has left a blank which 

 it will be difficult to fill. 



The roots of Grasses in relation to their upper 

 GROWTH. By Andrew P. Aitken, D.Sc, F.R.S.E., Professor 

 of Chemistry, Eoyal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh. 



(With Plates II. and III.) 

 During recent years, when the agriculture of this country 

 has been passing through a period of great depression, the 

 minds of farmers have been much exercised in endeavouring 

 to discover how they can best utilise the resources of their 

 soil, so as to contend successfully against the greatly increased 

 foreign competition to which they are now subjected. One 

 of the chief directions in which it has been found possible to 

 make a great and safe advance is in the improvement of 

 grass land. As the result of many experiments and observa- 

 tions, it was found that many of the grasses grown on 

 meadow land were of very inferior quality, that much that 

 farmers included under the term grass was simply weeds, 

 and that while many of these were nature-planted, not a few 

 were imported in the seeds sown upon the farm. Farmers 

 are now becoming educated in these matters, and they are 

 now demanding and they are also able to obtain grass seeds 

 fairly pure and true to name. A good deal has been done 

 by way of determining by means of analysis what are the 



