Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 61 



loured figures in the book before us prove that reduced representations 

 when carefully done and coloured (as these figures are) are more 

 useful to the scientific man than large folio volumes, however gorgeous 

 and magnificent. 



In Germany, his fine work on the Ramphastida has been copied on 

 a reduced scale ; it is a pity that so spirited and talented a man should 

 not have all the results of the profit of such books. — A. W. 



Arran and Excursions to Arran, tvith reference to the Natural History 

 of the Island. By the Rev. David Landsborough. 1847. John- 

 stone. 



This excellent work should have been printed without its prefa- 

 tory matter, and it would have been noticed by us earher, but for 

 the difficulty we felt about referring to a poem in a scientific Journal. 

 The poem of Arran however only occupies 80 pages of a book of 

 367 pages, so that the gifted and amiable author of it should have 

 published the poem separate, and the excursions separate, or at least 

 given the prominence and preface to the larger and (to us) more 

 valuable portion of his book. In a future number we intend to give 

 some extracts from these very interesting excursions, which will 

 show such as are not acquainted with them, that they have another 

 " Journal of a Naturalist," and a decidedly originally-treated natural 

 history of Arran, which would have delighted Gilbert White of Sel- 

 borne. With the works of the Rev. D. Landsborough and the geo- 

 logical and picturesque descriptions of Professor Ramsay, Arran, the 

 Queen of Scotland's Islands, behind " whose northern battlement of 

 hills " we have witnessed more than one glorious sunset, the visitor 

 will find most excellent guides. We have tested them both; they 

 should be printed in one volume. — A. W. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



Nov. 9, 1848. — The Rev. Dr. Fleming. President, in the Chair, 



The President opened the meeting by making a few observations 

 on the flourishing state of the Society. He alluded to the interesting 

 communications which had been read during the past session, many 

 of which had been published in the Society's Transactions ; and con- 

 cluded by expressing a hope that the ensuing session might be 

 equally prosperous. 



Numerous donations to the Museum and Library were announced, 

 and thanks ordered to be returned for them. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. " Algee Orientales, or Descriptions of new species belonging to 

 the ^enus iiargassum" (part 3), by R. K. Greville, LL.D. (Ann. Nat. 

 Hist. vol. ii. S. 2. p. 431.) 



2. " Stirpes Cryptogamse Sarnienses, or Contributions towards the 



