220 



♦ Dr. Millspaugh in opening the discussion remarked that the 

 flora of the Bahamas is so locally distributed that all the islands 

 must be visited before a complete enumeration can be attempted, 

 and that a thorough exploration of the archipelago at an early 

 date is very desirable. He then reviewed the history of the ex- 

 ploration of the Bahamas, mentioning the work of Brace, Britton, 

 Catesby, Coker, Cooper, Eggers, Hitchcock, Howe, Madiana, 

 Millspaugh, Nash, Mrs. Northrop, and Swainson (?) ; and sum- 

 marizing the work done upon each island. 



It is pretty certain that the islands have been all submerged 

 at a very recent geological period, so that the question as to 

 whether the}' were ever previously connected with the mainland 

 has no significance for the present plant population. The flora 

 seems to have more in common with Cuba and Haiti than with 

 any other region. 



Dr. Britton then described some of the noteworthy features of 

 the flora, exhibiting specimens of several of the recently dis- 

 covered endemic species and of the palms. 



Dr. Howe discussed some of the marine algae of the Bahamas, 

 remarking upon the apparently very local distribution of some 

 of the species. He exhibited specimens of a new Halinitda and 

 of a new genus, Cladocephalus, soon to be described by him in 

 the Bulletin. 



Dr. Barnhart remarked that he had recently found some evi- 

 dence about one Swainson, who is supposed to have collected 

 plants in the Bahamas between 1830 and 1842. Some doubts 

 had been expressed as to whether this could have been William 

 Swainson, the zoologist, who is not known to have been in that 

 part of the world at the time indicated, but the evidence goes to 

 show that the specimens in (picstion had been collected for 

 Swainson by some unknown correspondent, and by him com- 

 municated to the herbarium at Kew where they arc now found. 



Dr. MacDougal exhibited a mounted scries of leaves of two 

 hybrid oaks, Qucrcus Rudkiid liritton (supposed to be a hjbrid 

 between Q. Marylandica and Q. Phcllos), the original specimens 

 of which were recently found to be still growing near Cliffwood, 

 N. J., and (J. Iictcrof^liylln J^artr. (sup[)()sc(] to be a hybrid 



