<)20 



Rev. A. Bloxaiii, on fallen firs at Gopsall, Leiccstershiie, and named 

 by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, Palellaria constipata. 



Dr. Balfour read a letter from Dr. Dickie, mentioning that he had 

 added two mosses to the Flora of Ireland, not recorded in Mackay's 

 ' Flora Hibernica,' viz., Polytrichnm hercynicum and Hypnum rufes- 

 cens, " northern forms, and associated with the Spanish forms, so 

 called by Professor E. Forbes." 



Dr. Balfour also read a letter from Professor M'Cosh, in which he 

 remarks : — " You may be interested to learn that I was with Dr. 

 Dickie and his students to-day on their botanical excursion. We 

 had two goniometers with us. We cut off a number of healthy 

 branches from various trees on our route, and made a number of mea- 

 surements, the students being the agents. The results correspond 

 wonderfully with those arrived at by me. Taking a fair, healthy 

 branch, with branchlets, we measured so many as eight or ten of 

 these branchlets, I mean the angles made by them ; and then, work- 

 ing the sum by 8 or 10, what 1 have given below is the normal 

 angle, as thus determined: — Rosacanina, 50.5; alder, first trial 47.5; 

 ditto, second trial, 51 ; privet, 51.52 ; horse chestnut, 51 ; ash, 58.5 ; 

 beech, 44 ; briar, 48 ; elm, 45 ; sycamore, 45 ; Stellaria media, vein 

 and branch, 20. Such observations as these are to be repeated every 

 Saturday during the season." 



Dr. Balfour exhibited the following donations, made to the Museum 

 of Economic Botany since the last meeting of the Society : — From 

 His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch : — Section of a cedar of Lebanon, 

 eighty-two years old and seven feet in circumference. From Mrs. C. 

 Macintosh, Stockbridge : — Two baskets, " Yellon and Binnok," made 

 by the natives of Melbourne, South Australia. From Isaac Bayley, 

 Esq.: — Box from the West Indies, made of beef-wood (a species of 

 Casuarina) ; also specimens of straw and straw- plait from Shetland; 

 and various specimens of ropes. From — Hay, Esq., Leith Ropery : 

 — Specimens of hemp in various stages of manufacture. From Miss 

 M'Nab, Zante : — Specimens of the Corinthian grape and bottle- 

 gourds. From John C. Wilson, Esq., manufacturer, Kirkcaldy : — 

 Specimens of flax in various stages of manufacture. From Mr, 

 Charles Howie, nurseryman, St. Andrews: — Specimens of carbonife- 

 rous fossils, consisting chiefly of Stigmaria and ferns. Some of the 

 specimens of Stigmaria were veiy large, and presented the true cha- 

 racters of the genus in some cases, while in others they seemed to 

 pass into the form of Sigillaria. From Miss Dcwar, Dundas Street : 

 — Specimen of what appeared to be a portion of a palm-spathe. It 



