15 



seria than from Ambrosia, but could not be included in the latter 

 genus. 



Where the generic line should be drawn is hard to tell and 

 Dr. Rydberg was not prepared to give his final conclusions. It 

 is evident, however, that the treatment hitherto followed is not 

 satisfactory. Some of the species of Franseria could easily be 

 included in Ambrosia by modifying the latter genus a little. 

 Other species are on the other hand so closely related to Xanihium 

 that it is hard to draw any line, except the united bracts and the 

 staminate heads. It would be better to segregate the genus 

 Franseria into several than to leave it as it is, but where and how 

 to draw the generic line is hard to tell. 



There is another genus of the same group, namely, Hymenodea. 

 The structure of the pistillate head is essentially that of Ambrosia, 

 except that small spines of that genus have been replaced by 

 broad and thin wings. The beak is essentially of the same struc- 

 ture. In one species the wings are in a single series, but in the 

 other species there are some scattered wings below. In this 

 respect, the species stand to each other in the same relationship 

 as the genera Franseria and Ambrosia, but none of the species 

 have the beak of Franseria. There will be no good reason for 

 segregating them into several genera on account of the number of 

 series of appendages. 



Why should the number of series be regarded as a good char- 

 acter in separating Franseria and Ambrosia? And then the 

 question arises, if all four genera in reality could not be regarded 

 as one. There seems to be no reason why they should not if 

 Franseria is left as it is. 



Dr. Britton announced the approaching completion of Mr. 

 Norman Taylor's studies on the local flora within lOO miles of 

 New York City, which have extended over several years, and 

 also the authorization of the publication of the results of this 

 work by the scientific directors of the New York Botanical 

 Garden. The greater portion of the investigation was accom- 

 plished during the period while Mr. Taylor was an officer of the 

 New York Botanical Garden, and has been completed during his 

 association with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Dr. Britton 



