1079 



The following gentlemen were balloted for, and duly elected Ordi- 

 nary Fellows : — Kesident : Andrew Taylor, Esq., 31, Buccleuch Place, 

 Edinburgh. Non-resident : Dr. Grierson, Thornhill, Dumfries-shire ; 

 and T. Southwell, Esq., Holt Road, Falkenham, Norfolk. 



M. Auguste Le Folis, Cherbourg, was elected a Foreign Member. 



Mr. Alexander Osmond Black, Burton Street, London, was elected 

 an Associate. 



The Society then adjourned till the second Thursday of November. 



Notices of New Books, Src. 



* T?ie Gardeners^ Chronicle,'' Edited by Professor Lindleij, No. 36, 



September 3, 1853. 



Our attention has been invited to a paper in the ' Gardeners' Chro- 

 nicle,' in which, as it seems to the talented and venerable friend who 

 hands us the newspaper, as well as to ourselves, there is a great con- 

 fusion of terms and ideas, and hence, also, abundant germs of abso- 

 lute error. To suppose that Professor Lindley would pen such an 

 article, would be to erect a theory opposed to intrinsic evidence ; but 

 the article goes forth to the world anonymously, the Professor him- 

 self being the avowed and advertised editor ; and, therefore, it is per- 

 fectly in accordance with usage to hold him responsible for the 

 opinions expressed. We cite the article entire. 



" The species of plants, like those of animals, appear to be eternal, 

 so far as anything mundane can deserve that name. There is not the 

 smallest reason to suppose that the olive of our days is different from 

 that of Noah ; the Asa dulcis stamped upon the coins of Cyrene still 

 flourishes around the site of that ancient city ; and the acorns figured 

 among the sculptures of Nimroud seem to show that the same oak 

 now grows on the mountains of Kurdistan as was known there in the 

 days of Sardanapalus. There is not the slightest evidence to show 

 that any species of plant has become extinct during the present order 

 of things. All species have continued to propagate themselves by 

 seeds, without losing their specific peculiarities ; some appointed law 

 has rendered them and their several natures eternal. 



" It would seem moreover that, with the exception of annuals and 

 others of limited existence, the lives of the individual plants born from 



