ON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NATIVE PLANTS. 131 



specifying the original habitat of each, and giving the cause, or probable 

 cause, of extirpation so far as known to you. 



2. As above, but referring to partial instead of complete disappearance. 



3. If you know personally of any cases of extirpation, partial or 

 complete, in localities other than your own, please give them. 



For convenience in collating, it is requested that answers under these 

 three heads may be given separately in schedule form as follows, and that 

 the plants may be arranged with the names, numbers, and sequence of the 

 latest edition of the London Catalogue. 



4. To what extent do you think that the partial or complete dis- 

 appearance of plants fi'om any localities known to you was, or may be 

 made in the futui-e, subject to public or private control ? 



The Committee do not consider it any part of their present duty to 

 express opinions or make suggestions. Not until the fallest possible 

 information upon the disappearance of plants from their local habitats, 

 and the causes thereof, has been obtained upon personal and sufficient 

 authority, can the question of remedy be taken into consideration, if, 

 indeed, investigation should show that remedial action is necessary or 

 possible ; and the Committee are not without hope that the awakenino- of 

 local societies to the importance of the subject may lead to the gradual 

 formation of such a healthy tone of public opinion as will i-ender further 

 action unnecessary. Nevertheless, it is considered desirable to ask the 

 above question No. 4, in order to elicit the views of diverse and widely 

 distributed correspondents. 



In order to avoid undue demands upon time and space, and to 

 minimise the clerical labour involved in such an extended investigation as 

 this, the Committee propose to spread it over a short series of years, 

 confining its attention in each year to some well-defined area. At 

 present they are limiting their inquiries to Scotland, and propose to collate 

 the results for the meeting of the Association in 



Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor McKendrick, 

 Professor Cleland, and Dr. McGeegor-Robertson (Secretary), 

 appointed^ for the purpose of investigating the Mechanism of 

 the Secretion of Urine. 



Your Committee have to report that they have conducted a series of ex- 

 periments having specially in view the desire to discover, if possible, any 

 new evidence regarding (1) the mechanism of the separation of the watery 

 constituents of the urine, (2) the mechanism of the separation of the 

 nitrogenous constituents, and (3) any cause of the appearance of 

 albumen. 



A few experiments previously made by one of us seemed to indicate 

 that the influence of atropine on the kidney would aid in such an inquiry, 



K2 



