338 BOTANICAL NEWS. 
BOTANICAL NEWS 
The new edition of Routledge's * Men of the Time : a Biographical Dic- 
tionary of Eminent Living Characters ' is a great imx)roTemeut upon the last, 
the whole book having been carefully revised, fewer opinions and more facts 
being offered, and many additional names being introduced. Botanists will 
find sketches of the two Babingtons, of Balfour, Bentley, Berkeley, Darwin, 
Daubenj, Draper (J. W.), Fortune, Gray (Asa), Gray (J. E.), Hogg (Kobert), 
the two Hookers, Junghuhn, Koch (K.), Lantester, Lees, Lindley, Lowe (K. 
T.), Martins, Moore (T.), Newman (E.), Paxton, Seemann, "Walberg, and Ward 
(N, B.) ; but we should have been glad if the esteemed names of Bennett, 
Bentham, Harvey, Miers, Thomson, Watson, and others familiar to British 
eyes, had not been overlooked. Only three German botanists are admitted ; 
Bartling, Braun, de Bary, Grisebach, Goeppert, Fenzl^ linger, and many others, 
are passed over. Sweden has to be satisfied with one, Fries ; the two Agardhs 
and other great names are omitted. France, Eussia, the Netherlands, and 
Switzerland are not botanically represented in this book, though Brongniart, 
Decaisne, Planchon, De CandoUe, Boissier, Parlatore, and many others we could 
name, are eminently '^ Men of the Time," to whose admission into the forth- 
coming supplement we look forward. 
Early in December we are promised the first number of a comic scientific 
newspaper, to be published by Messrs. Triibner and Co. under the title of 
* Gammon and Spinach.' It is stated that the object of this paper will be 
to ridicule those scientific men with whom no serious argument can be held, 
to aim effective blows at the cliquism existing in so many of our scientific 
societies, and to assist savants in laying aside conceit. 
We have been much gratified to read the first * Beport of the Marlborough 
College Natural History Society for the half-year ending Midsummer, 1866,* 
just printed. It coutams a journal of proceedings of this newly established 
society, and several of the papers read before that body at full length. The 
meetings were generally well attended, there being on an average as many as 
forty persons present; the papers now printed are popular, and well put 
together. 
The Queen has been graciously pleased to become the Patron of the Great 
International Horticultural Exhibition to be held in London in May, 1866, 
and given £50 as a donation to the Exhibition Fund. The day fixed for the 
opening of the show is May the 22nd. 
The Great Fern Herbarium of Mr. John Smith, late Curator of the Eoyal 
Botanic Gardens at Kew, is now for sale. It consists of about 2000 species, 
each species being represented in most instances by many specimens, illus- 
tratmg its geographical range. No more valuable collection of ferns has ever 
been offered for sale ; it would be a usefiJ acquisition to some great public 
institution. 
The Rev. B. T, Lowe, author of the ' Manual Flora of Madeira,' is going to 
continue, during this winter, his botanical exploration of the Cape de Terd 
Islands, which, though of late years visited by Drs. Bolle and J. Schmidt, are 
not vet thorouffhlv known. 
