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THE WEBT-AMEBICAK SCIENTIST. 



The West-American Scientist 



AMONTHLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTOllY 

 ISsprecially deVoted to the Pacifk; Coasts 



Subscription SOc. per annnin in advance. 

 Forelffii Coni.'tries '?5c. 



C. R. ORCUTT, 



nohmHEo BV 



»AN DIE60, CAL. 



KATES OF ADVERTISING: 



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 Address THE WEST-AiiEflic/iN Scientist, San Diego, 

 Cal.; monc.v[orders anj drafts payable toC.K.Orcutt. 



SAN riEaO, CAL., APRIL, 1883. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



We have adopted the rule of 

 not italicizing scientific names, a 

 custom of no real value, and of 

 many disadvantages. 



We woixkl repeat that we wish 

 to make this jonrnal the represen- 

 tative of the naturalists of western 

 America, and we thank those who 

 have given us their prompt sup- 

 port The Pacific coast is poor 

 in active workei-s, and the few are 

 scattered over a wide, undeveloped 

 field, rich in the beauties of Na- 

 ture. By co-operation the gi-eat 

 work before them can be best j)er- 

 formed. 



It is going the rounds of news- 

 papers that California ostrich eggs 

 are only $120 per dozen; Ave may 

 tidd that chickens are held at $50 

 and hens at $1,000 each, while the 

 eggs are equal to two dozen com- 

 mon hen's eggs and weigh about 

 three pounds apiece. 



The Scientist is mailed be- 

 tween the fifteenth and twentieth 

 of each month. 



DISTINGUISHED BOTANISTS 

 CALIFORNIA. 



IN 



Dr. Asa Gray, and Professor W, 

 G. Farlow, the distinguished sci- 

 entists of Harvard College, who 

 are at present visiting Southern 

 California, were tendered a recep- 

 tion by the Historical Society of 

 Southern California at Los Ange- 

 les on the evening of March 16, 

 Each of the distinguished guests 

 responded to the Society's greet- 

 ing in an appropriate speech, and 

 from Dr. Gray's, we quote the 

 following paragi'aph : 



"That we have enjoyed your 

 scenery, your climate and your 

 hospitality, goes without saying. 

 But beyond tha4 we have had the 

 pleasvn-e~peculiar to botanists — 

 of meeting old friends, seen be- 

 fore, only in altered guise — your 

 flowers, many of which were be- 

 fore familiar to us only in their 

 dried form. These beautiful flow- 

 ers of Southern California turn 

 up their bright eyes to me as I 

 pass, and say: 'Don't you know 

 us ?' And I look down at this 

 one for a moment and say: 'Oh, 

 yes, you're so and so. Menke 

 discovered you;' or to that one, 

 'Yes, your name is such and such. 

 You were wrongly christened, and 

 had to re-name you;' or to a third, 

 'Yes, I know you — you are one of 

 my own children, classified and 

 named by myself ten or twenty or 

 forty years ago, or perhaps only 

 yesterday.' And there is the fur- 

 ther pleasure of meeting among 

 you some of the correspondents 

 whose work has been so valuable 

 to me — as Messrs. Nevin, Lyon 

 and Oliver. There are, too, the 



