136 



ferns remained stationary. The communication concludes as follows :— "We must be allowed to impress up- 

 on the Society, that this tour is not of the less interest for not having produced any plants new to the British 

 Flora, since we consider the determination of the Flora of any district, peculiar either in its structure or situ- 

 ation, to be of importance, as elucidating the effect of soils or climate upon the distribution of plants. We 

 would also take this opportunity of expressing our sense of the obligations under which we lie to the gentle. 

 men of Skye and the Long Island, who in a tiuly kind and liberal manner exercised their hospitality towards 

 our party, and greatly contributed to the pleasure, indeed we may say to the success, of the excursion." 



2. On the Anatomy and Physiology of the seed of Phaseolus vulgaris, or French Bean; by Dr. Spencer 

 Thomson, Burton-on-Trent. In this paper, which was accompanied by illustrative drawings, the author, 

 after giving an elaborate dissection of the seed, stated a variety of circumstances relative to its mode or coui'se 

 of germination, and traced the analogy between that process and the growth of the foetus in the animal king- 

 dom. He also noticed M. De CandoUe's views on the subject, and pointed out the results which seemed to 

 arise from them. 



3. On the discovery of three species of Fungi, new to the British Flora, viz.. Tuber ferrugineum, iri- 

 dium Thesii, (Leefe), and Uredo Symphyti, (DeC.) ; by The Rev. J. E. leefe. With regard to the first of 

 Uiese fungi, Mr. Leefe says — " The specimens are in general of a rich red bronze colour. Their smell is pe- 

 culiarly strong and penetrating, so that on receiving a letter enclosing specimens, Mr. Berkeley can, before 

 opening it, determine positively what it contains." 



4. Notice of the discovery of Cerastium triviale, /3. holosteoides, (Fries), near Kinfauns Castle, Perth- 

 shire ; and of Eubus arcticus, near the head of Glen Tilt, Perthshire ; by Mr. J. Robertson, Kinfauns Gar- 

 den. Considerable interest was manifested respecting the occurrence of tie latter species in the British Flora, 

 and some discussion took place with regard to its identity ; but the specimen exhibited was so imperfect as 

 to leave doubts whether the discovery ought yet to be fully relied on, especially as our botanists have more 

 than once been disappointed in this respect. — Edinburgh Evening Post, November 17, 1841. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 

 November 29.— Fifth Anniversary Meeting. John Edward Gray, Esq., F.E.S,, &c., President, in the 

 chair. The Report of the Council was read, from which it appeared that 20 members had been elected since 

 the last Anniversary, and that the Society now consisted of 142 members. The donations to the Library 

 amounted to 220 volumes, many of them valuable works. The Council had determined that the Report on 

 the Scientific Proceedings of the Society should appear at the close of the winter season, and it was fully ex- 

 pected that a nearly complete collection of British plants would be ready for use in the course of the present 

 winter, and also that a Foreign herbarium of several thousand specimens would soon be in equally good or- 

 der. The new regulations as to the disti-ibution of specimens, whereby the members are enabled to receive 

 then- parcels shortly after their lists of desiderata are sent in, had been much approved of, and the appoint- 

 ment of a paid Curator had been equally advantageous. The Report was unanimously adopted. A Ballot 

 then took place for the Council for the ensuing year, when the Chairman was re-elected President, and he 

 nominated John George Children, Esq., F.R.S., and Hewett Cottrell Watson, Esq., F.L.S., Vice-Presidents. 

 Mr. G. E. Dennes, F.L.S., Mr. J. Reynolds, and Mr. T. Sansom, were respectively re-elected Secretary, 

 Treasurer, and Librarian. Additional local Secretaries were also appointed. 



December 17. — John Reynolds, Esq., Treasurer, in the chau\ Donations of British plants were an- 

 nounced from Messrs. Hewett C. Watson, J Seeley, G. Hubbard, S. P. Woodward, G. Rich, The Rev. W. 

 T. Bree, and Miss M. Beever ; British Fungi from Mr. D. Stock ; and British mosses from Miss A. Wors- 

 ley. Mr. Hewett C. Watson, V.P., presented specimens of the following undescribed British plants : — 



1. Linaria Bauhini. Discovered near Penryn, in CornwEdl, in 1830 or 1831, by Mr. Watson ; again 

 found at Shirley, near Soutliampton, in 1840 ; also by The Rev. W. Hincks, in the county of Cork, last smn- 

 mer. It is the Antirrhinum Bauhini of Gaudin's ' Flora Helvetica,' — the Antirrhinum genistifolium of 

 Suter's 'Floi-a Helvetica,' — but not the plant so named by Linnseus. Probably also it is identical with 

 Linaria Italica of Treviranus, and of Koch's ' Synopsis Florae GermanicEe et Helvetia;.' 



2. Lolium, multiflorum. Discovered in a pea-field at Claygate, SuiTcy, in August, 1840, by Mr. Watson ; 

 also in other parts of England, during the past summer, by different botanists. It is Lolium multitlorum 

 of Lamarck, Koch, and other continental botanists, who distinguish it from Lolium perenne by its annual 

 root, numerous flowers in the spikelets, and the long awns. The two last are varying characters, and the 

 plant is reduced to a variety of Lolium perenne by Bertolini, in the ' Flora Italica." 



3. Bromus commutatus. This grass is frequent in England and Scotland, but has constantly been con- 

 fused with other species of Bromus. Smith first mistook it for Bromus arvensis, and afterwards, in Uie 

 ' English Flora,' described it jointly with another species under the name of Bromus racemosus. The spe- 

 cimens distributed by the Botanical Societies of London and Edinburgh, under the name of Bromus arven- 

 sis, all probably belong to Bromus commutatus, and it is left a question whether the former species is indige- 

 nous to Britain. Independently of more technical distinctions, there is one obvious enough at first sight, 

 namely, that the flowers of Bromus arvensis (Linn.) are only half the size of those of Bromus commutatus, 

 (Schrader), as was shown in an accompanying specimen of Bromus arvensis from Germany. — G. E, D. 



