171 



SHORT AETICLES. 



Chamisso Botanical Club.— The scientific club wliicli 



bears the name of the German poet-naturalist, Chamisso, 

 was organized at the University of California, February 25, 

 1891, by officers and students interested in botanical work. 

 The promoters of the club had especially in view the collec- 

 tion of material upon which to found local plant-lists. It 

 was easy to perceive that the compilation of local catalogues 

 might be begun most profitably to the botany of the State, in 

 the region close at hand. Here about San Francisco Bay a 

 very large number of plants find their northernmost or 

 southernmost limit of range. The list of these^ plants, to 

 which there attaches more than a curious or local interest, is 

 constantly being increased by exploration and discovery on 

 the various sides of the Bay. Here in this region, too, many 

 of the first collectors gathered new plants, naming San Fran- 

 cisco, Bodega, or Point Reyes as the localities whence 

 came their types. In addition the topography of the country 

 is such that several quite natural areas can be readily 

 defined. That the region is comparatively well known was 

 rather an advantage. It gave promise that the work might 

 soon be accomplished locally and extended with more ease 

 into the interior or elsewhere north or south. Although no 

 local catalogues have as yet been published, by members of 

 the Club, more tlian one is in preparation, and annotated 

 lists, as the results of field and laboratory studies, will in due 



season appear. 

 Meetii 



have been held from the 



upon a wide variety 



beginning. At these meetings papers upon a wide van 

 of topics have been read before the Club, followed by infor- 

 mal discussion. The titles of some of the more important 

 are here given : "Vegetation of the Summit of Mt. Hamil- 

 ton,'* "A Problem in the Geographical Distribution of 

 Plants," by Professor Greene; "Nut Pines of the Pacific 



W 



Man 



Will 



"Influence of Soil 



on the Distribution and Form of Tree Growth," by Pro- 



