March 2, 1900.] 



SCm'NCR 



351 



At the close of the paper two Goerz Trieder 

 Binoculars were exhibited. 



The second paper read was by Mr. J. F. 

 Hayford, on ' Recent Progress in Geodesy.' As 

 it is expected that this will soon be published 

 in Science in full, no abstract is here given. 



A paper by Mr. T. J. J. See, on ' Recent 

 Progress in Astronomy,' went over to the next 

 meeting on account of the absence of the author. 

 E. D. Preston, 



Secretary. 



TOEEEY BOTANICAL CLtTB. 



The annual meeting on January 9tb, re- 

 sulted in the election of the previous board of 

 officers, including as President, Hon. Addison 

 Brown ; Treasurer, Maturin L. Delafield, Jr. ; 

 Secretary, Edward S. Burgess, Ph.D. ; Editor, 

 Lucien M. Underwood, Ph.D. Annual reports 

 of officers were rendered, that of the Treasurer 

 showing a balance in the treasury. 



The Secretary, Professor Edward S. Burgess, 

 reported an average attendance of 31 at the 15 

 meetings held during the year, one death, a 

 present active membership of 237, correspond- 

 ing membership 142, honorary membership 3, 

 total membership 382. Among the 18 scientific 

 papers presented, 5 had been accompanied by 

 lantern views ; 4 papers related to ferns. Nine 

 illustrative exhibits of photographs, plates and 

 flower paintings, etc., had been held. Brief 

 reports of collections and of botanical progress 

 numbered 55. 



The editor. Professor L. M. Underwood, re- 

 ported the regular monthly issue of the Bulletin, 

 forming the largest volume published to date, 

 including 650 pages, besides 23 heliotype plates 

 and 38 figures in the text, and including 65 

 articles representing 39 authors. The publica- 

 tion of the Memoirs has been carried on with 

 unusual activity, including Dr. M. A. Hov/e's 

 monograph on the Californian Hepaticse (208 

 pages, 35 plates), Mr. Tracy E. Hazen's Life- 

 history of ' Sphxrella lacustris {Hsematococcus 

 pluvialis'), pp. 33, 2 colored plates, and the be- 

 ginning of Professor P. E. Lloyd's 'Comparative 

 Embryology of the Rubiaceae' (pp. 21, 4 plates). 



Miss Ingersoll, as curator, reported upon the 

 condition of the herbarium of the Torrey Club, 

 suggesting its transfer to the New York Botan- 



ical Garden. Discussion followed looking to- 

 ward its treatment there as the nucleus for a 

 distinct local collection, but no definite action 

 was taken. Dr. T. F. Allen remarked upon the 

 beginnings of the collection as dating from a 

 persistent botanical exploration of parts of New 

 Jersey, especially about New Durham and the 

 Secaucus swamps, made by himself and Mr. 

 Wm. H. Leggett, Dr. Buustead, etc. 



Dr. Allen's own private herbarium at Litch- 

 field, Ct., is also richly representative of those 

 localities and others now destroyed or altered, 

 and contains much of interest to the history 

 of local botany of New York City. 



Miss Marie L. Sanial, as Secretary of the Ex- 

 cursion Committee, reported 38 excursions held, 

 with the new feature of excursions for bryolog- 

 ical and other collections in December, at one 

 of which 15 persons were present. 



The Committee appointed to consider a pro- 

 gram for a Torrey Day in connection with the 

 A. A. A. S. meeting here next summer, reported 

 through the Secretary, a provisional program. 



The scientific paper of the evening was by 

 Professor Francis E. Lloyd, on 'The Relation- 

 ships of certain Rubiacese,' forming part of an 

 investigation in the embryology of that order 

 now in course of printing among the Memoirs 

 of the Torrey Club. The ground of relation- 

 ship considered was the ovary, which is classed 

 as inferior, but developmentally proves a re- 

 ceptacle hollowed out. The flower seems to be 

 derived from one or more separate corolla- 

 lobes. The Rubiacese are very polymorphic 

 externally, and there is the greater need of 

 discovery of stable internal characters. Such 

 characters for the ovary of the Stellatece were 

 discussed in detail. That of the common But- 

 tonbush, Cephalanthus, was alluded to as pos- 

 sessing certain ovary characters in form and 

 relatively rapid and prolonged growth of the 

 basal partition, which accord most significantly 

 with the unusuallj' compressed position of the 

 ovary. 



Discussion followed regarding the passage of 

 pollen tube through tissues rather than loosely 

 in the cavity of the ovary. In some Rubiacese, 

 said Professor Lloyd, these tubes seem stimu- 

 lated by contact with the enlarged collar-cells 

 of the funiculus, and appear to owe their 



