751 



rude hand of innovation will, no doubt, soon obliterate the trace of 

 the little wanderer; but its memory may thus be preserved from ob- 

 livion. 



R. W. M'All. 



Green Heys, Manchester, 

 20th January, 1847. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



1st January, 1847. — John Reynolds, Esq., Treasurer, in the chair. 



Donations to the library were announced from Sir R. 1. Murchison, 

 Mr. John Miers, Mr. John Woollett, Mr. Van Voorst, Mr. A. Gerard 

 and Mr. F. Crisp. British plants had been received from the Rev. 

 G. W. Sandys, Dr. Lemann, Dr. T. B. Salter, Mr. J. Sidebotham, 

 Mr. F. P. Pascoe, Mr. F. Townsend, Mr. J. Tatham, Jun., Mr. W. 

 Andrews, Mr. J. Brown, the Rev. T. Butler, Mr. C. Prentice, 

 Mr. G. E. Dennes, and the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. Mr. T. 

 Westcombe exhibited specimens of a Carex differing from C. ovalis 

 by its long, foliaceous bracts, but believed to be a variety of that 

 species, and probably identical also with the Carex argyroglochin of 

 Hornemann. The specimens being in their flowering stage only, the 

 form of the mature fruit cannot be ascertained ; but in the characters 

 which are obvious the specimens correspond with the description of 

 C. argyroglochin, as given in Kunth's Enumerata. Mr. Browne 

 communicated a paper "On the Potato Disease." — G. E. D. 



" On the Physiology and Oryanography of the Sensitive Plant, and 

 other Plants having regular periods of rest. By M. Fee." 



The following is a summary of the results of the author's researches, 

 as communicated by him to the Academic des Sciences, in a memoir 

 bearing the above title, which was read on the 21st of September, 

 1846.* He says:— 



" In order to account for the movements exhibited by the sensitive 

 plant, and other excitable species, it is not necessary to suppose the 

 intervention of the action of muscular fibre, or even of that of apparent 

 nerves. In the animal kingdom a crowd of active beings execute 



* Reported in the ' Nouvelle Revue Encyclopedique ' for October, 1S46. 



