182 Botanical Sociefi/ of Edinburgh. 



nt llnbliii's How, iiulicntcs nn aiijiroach to an alj)iiK' flora, Ilabbies 

 How is a narrow cltasni rnnninp; nearly oast and west, honndcd on 

 each side by )irecipitous reeks, wbieb are seldom exposed to the rays 

 of the ^un. It lies at the base cf the nortlurn slr])e of the highest 

 of tlie Penthnuls (here attaining an altitude of abont IHOU feet), and 

 it is en the rocks facing the north that the j)lants occur. 



Profissor Balfour read a letter from !Mr. Macniillan, in which he 

 stated that he had received a number of Lichens gathered on the 

 Cumbraes, among which were several very rare species, for which 

 uo locality had previously been found in Scotland, they being 

 eminently southern species ; such as Parinclia tHiuceu and convyuta, 

 and Opejirapha Lyellii and dtiidrHica. 



Mr. Macniillan remarks : — " I found in a wood immediately above 

 Inver, near Dunkeld, an immense number of juniper bushes, the stems 

 and brandies of which were jirofusely covered with magnificent speci- 

 mens of the Podisoma juitipcri-communis, a very rare IIyj)odermous 

 fungus, previously found only, as far as I am aware, in one or two 

 stations in England. Last year, I observed lieside the monument in 

 the grounds of Taymouth Castle, a very old juniper bush completely 

 covered with it. In a fresh state, and particularly during damp or 

 rainy weather, it bears considerable resemblance to some species of 

 Clavaria ; growing in the form of a liundle of thick gelatinous stems 

 of an orange colour, and tapering at one extremity — aggregated 

 fogether on the jiart of the branch infested, and completely envelop- 

 ing it — and thus giving it an appearance not unlike a pine-apple 

 when seen from a little distance. In nn old state, and in hot weather, 

 however, it dries uj) and becomes hard and shrivelled. 



June 12, 1856.— Prof. Balfour, V.P., in the Chair. 

 The following papers were read : — 



1. "Elucidation of some Plants mentioned in Dr. Francis Hamil- 

 ton's Account of the Kingdom of Nepal," by Lieut. -Colonel Madden. 



An attempt to determine several of the doubtful species. 



2. "On the Duration of the Life of Plants," by Prof. Fleming. 



3. " Incpiiry into the signs of current Electricity in Plants," by 

 H. F. Baxter," Esq. 



After alluding to the researches of Becquerel, Donne, Wartmann, 

 and Zantedeschi, the author proceeded to detail experiments made 

 on plants by means of the electrodes of a galvanometer. He exa- 

 mined the electric currents in the leaves, roots, flowers, fruits, and 

 tidicrs, and the following are the conclu6ior>s drawn : — 



1st. That when the electrodes of a galvanometer are brought into 

 contact, one with the surface of the leaf, and the other with the sap 

 flowing from the same leaf, an effect occurs upon the needle indicating 

 the surface and the sap to be in opposite electric states. These effects 

 cannot be referred entirely to ordinary electro-chemical actions, but 

 may be referred, in part, to the organic changes which take place in 

 the leaf during vegetation. 



