SEKlEMBtl! U. 190:i.] 



SCIENCE. 



329 



loft will probably be remedied before the 

 uieetiiij;. 



Section K (botany) will meet under the 

 presidency of !Mr. A. C. Seward, whose 

 address will be devoted to the subject of 

 fossil plants. After referrincr to the im- 

 portance of paleobotanieal investigations, 

 as affording evidence bearing on the inter- 

 relationships of existing classes and fami- 

 lies of plants, the greater part of the ad- 

 dress will deal with the leading character- 

 istics and geographical distribution of the 

 older floras of the world. The geograph- 

 ical distribution of extinct plants has re- 

 ceived less attention than it deserves, but 

 in spite of the meager character of the 

 available data the subject is well worthy 

 of consideration. The general facies of 

 the vegetation of the Devonian, Carbon- 

 iferous. Breceian. Trias.sic and Jurassic 

 periods will be described, prominence be- 

 ing given to such facts as throw light on 

 the methods of plant evolution during the 

 Paleozoic and ilesozoic eras. The main 

 object of the address, however, will be to 

 draw attention to the conclusions which 

 may be looked for as the result of a critical 

 study of tlie geographical distribution of 

 the floras of the past. As regards the gen- 

 eral work of the section, Mr. W. Bateson 

 and ^liss E. R. Saunders will read papers 

 on the new discoveries in heredity and 

 will deal with the results of some cross- 

 breeding expei-iments with plants, main- 

 taining the view that these have arisen 

 from a dicotyledonous ancestor by the 

 union of its two seed leaves. Jliss Ethel 

 Sargant will open a discussion on the evolu- 

 tion of the locnocotyledons. and Jlr. C. C. 

 Hurst will give an account of some recent 

 experiments in the hybridization of 

 orchids. Professor J. B. Farmer will lec- 

 ture on epiphytes, Messrs. A. G. Tansley 

 an<1 P. F. Blackman will give an account 



of important recent advances in our knowl- 

 edge of the green algae, Dr. 0. V. Darbi- 

 shire will read a paper on the sandhill and 

 saltmarsh vegetation of Southport, Miss 

 Sargant and Miss Robertson on the seed- 

 lings of some grasses, 'Mr. Harold "Wager 

 ( i-ecorder of the section ) on the staminal 

 hairs of Trade scantia, and Professor T. 

 Johnson on a willow canker. The report of 

 the joint committee of Sections K and L 

 on the teaching of botany in schools will be 

 presented, as also reports on the investiga- 

 tion of the Cyanophycea? and on the respi- 

 ration of plant.s. 



Section L (educational science) will this 

 year meet for the third time, and so well 

 has it justified its existence that it may 

 now be regarded as an established institu- 

 tion. The president of the section is Sir 

 William de Wiveleslie Abney, K.C.B., prin- 

 cipal assistant secretary of the Secordary 

 Branch of the Board of Education, from 

 whom an instructive address may be ex- 

 pected. Following the eoui-se pursued at 

 Glasgow and Belfast— a course which 

 might, perhaps, usefully be adopted, in a 

 measure at least, by some of the other sec- 

 tions—the organizing committee has de- 

 cided to confine the discussions to a few 

 subjects of wide general interest and im- 

 portance. The first two days of the sec- 

 tional proceedings will be devoted to an 

 organized discussion on school curricula, 

 based on a series of short papers of which 

 copies will be distributed before the meet- 

 ing. Papers have been promised by 

 (amongst others) !Miss Burstall and 

 Messrs. JI. E. Sadler, J. L. Paton. W. L. 

 Fletcher (Liverpool Institute), John 

 Adams and T. E. Page. There will be 

 two main branches to the discussion, one 

 relating to the character of the curriculum 

 suitable for primary (preparatory) schools, 

 tlie other to the curriculum suitable for 



