222 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. [ September, 
BRIEFER ARTICLES. 
Botanical Papers before the American Association.—The papers read 
before the American Association for the Advancement of Science at the 
New York meeting, which are of interest to botanists, are as follows: 
W. J. Beal, Comparison of the epidermal system of different plants. 
Beal and C. E. St. John, Study of the hairs in Silphium perfol- 
iatum and Dipsacus laciniatus in relation to insects. 
R. P. Bigelow, On the structure of the frond of Champia parvula. 
N. L. Britton, Notes on the flora of the Kittatinny mountains. 
J. M. Coulter and J. N. Rose, Development of the Umbellifer fruit. 
; A. A. Crozier, Methods of branching in the fibro-vascular system of 
plants. . 
W. G. Farlow, Apical growth in Fucus; also Aicidium on Juniperus 
Virginiana. Legian 
. M. Fontaine, The flora of the Potomac formation in Virgina. 
W.M MeMurtrie, Note on the chemistry of germination ; also Note 
on absorption of nitrogenous nutriment by the roots of plants. 
J. 8. Newberry, Flora of the Amboy clays. 
F S§. Pease, Honey plant oil. 
Mrs. F.S Pease, The honey plant. 
H. H. Rusby, The cultivated Cinchonas of Boiivia. er, 
é pe . Schrenk, On the histology of the vegetative organs of Brasenia pe! 
ata. ; 
A. B. Seymour, Character of the injuries produced by parasitic fungi — 
upon their host plants. 
Miss Effie A. Southworth, Notes on Catalpa leaf spot disease. 
Sereno Watson, Some notes on American roses. 
This list does not contain as many papers as were presented by the 
zoologists of the Association. It was the plan to have botanical paper 
read before the Section of Biology in the morning and zoological pape . 
in the afternoon, but the plan was strictly carried out only on Thursday : 
the first day of the meeting on which papers were read, while on Friday, 
the second day of reading papers, no botanical subjects were put on the 
Programme. If, however, the botanists did not do their full duty iD 
maintaining an equilibrium between the two sides of the biological body, 
they at least furnished good material for their portion. eo 
Dr. Beal’s paper on the hairs in Silphium and Dipsacus, in which d 
‘took the ground that they had no special physiological significance, + 
that the water of the cups was not excreted by the plant but supplied ; 
tains, was illustrate l by charts and specimens, and led to an eri 
Pahang sy in which Messrs, Macloskie, Rusby, Schrenk, A. J. ; ri 
cles, and others took part. Some of the speakers were disinclined : 
aerve with the author's conclusions, and the query of what could ae 
nesta the development of the hairs in advance of their usefulness to 
plant received considerable attention. . 
The paper by Mr. Bigelow, illustrated by enlarged drawings, cleared 
up the various conflicting views regarding the apical growth of the cag. 
