Febkuaby 19, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



309 



ants of other species than her own. So many 

 as five joints may be retained by ants whose 

 antennae have normally eleven or twelve joints, 

 and these ants will live peacefully together 

 though they he of different subfamilies. But 

 if seven joints be retained, the ants, sim- 

 ilarly grouped, will fight one another to the 

 death. If ants make one another's acquaint- 

 ance before they are twelve hours old they 

 will thereafter live amicably together al- 

 though they be of different species, genera 

 or even of different subfamilies. But in three 

 days after hatching their criterion of correct 

 ant odor is established, and they refuse to 

 afliliate with ants whose odor is not in accord 

 with their standard. 



M. A. BiGELOW, 



Secretary. 



THE TOEEEY BOTAXIOAL CLUB. 



The Torrey Botanical Club met at the New 

 York Botanical Garden, January 27. 



The first paper on the scientific program 

 was by Dr. J. K. Small, on ' Recent Explora- 

 tions in Southern Florida.' Dr. Small was 

 accompanied on his trip by J. J. Carter, of 

 Pennsylvania, and for a part of the time by 

 A. A. Eaton, who paid special attention to the 

 orchids and ferns. From Miami as a base 

 expeditions were made in different directions. 

 One trip was made to the northward in the di- 

 rection of Ft. Worth. Foiir strikingly dif- 

 ferent plant formations were noted in this 

 region : (1) Sand ridges covered with gnarled 

 and stunted trees and shrubs mixed with 

 cactuses with almost no grass or herbaceous 

 vegetation, (2) low-lying moist lands covered 

 with grass and sedges but destitute of trees 

 and shrubs, (3) the pine lands, and (4) the 

 hummocks filled with broad-leaved evergreens 

 and deciduoiis trees. The country south of 

 Miami is just being opened up to settlement 

 and is still in a primitive condition. Most 

 of the excursions were in this direction, ex- 

 plorations being made for a distance of forty- 

 five miles. The region consists of low coral- 

 limestone ridges with no appreciable soil, but 

 still supporting a dense pine forest. The 

 lower levels are filled with water and constitute 

 arms of the everglades. The pine lands are 



interspersed with occasional small hummocks. 

 An exceedingly interesting flora was found, 

 and over a thousand numbers were collected, 

 which include an unusual number of new and 

 interesting things. So far as the collections 

 have been studied, the plants from the hum- 

 mocks show a close relationship to the Cuban 

 flora and include a considerable number of 

 West Indian species not heretofore known 

 from the mainland. The pine-land plants, 

 on the contrary, are largely endemic and in- 

 clude many undescribed species. 



In the discussion which followed the read- 

 ing of the paper it was stated that the expedi- 

 tion would probably add at least a hundred 

 species to the known flora of the United States. 



The second paper was by Dr. J. C. Arthur, 

 on ' An Interesting Unpublished Work on the 

 Fungi.' The paper will be printed in an 

 early issue of Torreya. 



The third paper was by Dr. N. L. Britton, 

 on ' The Birch Trees' of North America.' Re- 

 cent study in arranging the dendrological ex- 

 hibit in the museum has shown the necessity 

 for a further investigation of our arborescent 

 flora. In some genera, notably in Fraxinus, 

 too many species are now recognized and some 

 reductions will be necessary. In the birches, 

 on the contrary, it is necessary to recognize 

 at least four new species. One of these is in 

 the Alleghany region, and the others are north- 

 western. 



F. S. Earle, 

 Recording Secretary. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

 CONVOCATION" WEEK. 



The problem of cooperation and practical 

 affiliation between the important scientific so- 

 cieties of the country and the American Asso- 

 ciation is one which, admittedly, is becoming 

 each year more difficult of solution. The dif- 

 ficulty, moreover, is multiple and dependent 

 on a variety of factors, rather than on one or 

 two. 



The consideration of expense, dependent 

 partly on distance, is usually urged as the 

 most important one, but this plea is not al- 

 ways sufficient. During the last convocation 

 week it is known that many men in going to 



