1887. | BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 20r 
THE REPORT of the department of botany, British Museum, for 1886, 
shows 48,111 a pacer mounted during the year. The most important 
consists of ac eacclion of British and foreign fungi, comprising about 
40,000 spec imens, many of them es. From inburgh has been od 
ceived a collection of Sie belonging to Archibald Menzies, who acco 
panied ‘orate round the world, and whose name is so familiar in eas 
western bota Our own collectors are well represented among the pur- 
chased ereriased 
Jos 
uralist on “ Milk weeds,” cndineee ad which he very curiously Soalskile 
the latex and the “sap” of these plants. On p. 608 he says: “ Yet, not 
that it becomes a better protection to ihe sie ere are a 
great many plants which possess a milky sap, om on so Well developed 
as in the milkweed.” 
LAST NUMBER of Drugs and Medicines of N. A. (March) contains 
the Saitiitod of the account of Lobelia ayphilitics, L. cardinalis, Scro- 
phularia nodosa, Lindera Benzoin » Diphyll ela cymosa, Cer rcis Canadensis 
and Pn eh ‘hieracifolia. vk 
and illustratio An extensive foot-note gives a sketch of Dr. “3. Ba 
ton, one of hee siaehy Aonsebodt botanists of note. It would seem that the 
claims of a ~~ which is neither a commercial drug nor used in med- 
icine to a place in this work were — tenuous. This is the case 
with three of ined species listed abov 
. CREPIN has sibiiehea Cae Bot. Soc. Belgique) “ Nouvelles ¥. 
marques sur les Roses Américaines,” called out by ra be tson’s “ History 
and Revision of the Roses of North America.” M. OnE n gives directions 
‘0 collectors concerning collecting and observation, and oe age with 
critical remarks upon the as pre 
oca 
‘lucida and nitida need further observation. R. Mexicana is not pro- 
nounced upon, as M. Crépin has not sufficient material ; while RR. blanda, 
Arkansana, pisocarpa, Ostifornica, Fendleri and Woodsii are said to 
questionable a es. 
R. W. RayMonp’s r on “Indicative Plants,” read before the St. 
Louis meeting of the jeg of Mining Engineers, has been distrib- 
uted. Referring to the uses made of “signs” by practical miners, pros- 
pectors, etc., who neglect nothing, for everything is equally important to 
them, the author thinks that modern science neglected em_ too 
much. Viola calaminaria, the Westphalian “ ees is yar 4 
and figured; also, Amorpha paceencnc ti “Jead-plant.” Dr. F. Pan ts) 
indi- 
