The Royal Society of Canada. 42*7 



embodied in memoirs to the Academie des Sciences. Of all 

 those who labored to advance the cause of science in the 

 earlier period of Canadian history, Sarrasin occupies the 

 first place. 



Of the botanical papers we note the following: — 



The " Marine Algse of New Brunswick," by Dr. G. U. 

 Hay, referred to the more important species of Marine 

 Algse found on the eastern and southern coasts of New 

 Brunswick, with notes on their distribution and economic 

 uses. The occurrence of rare forms, such as Fucus serratus 

 and Polysiphonia fibrillosa were mentioned, with particular 

 reference to the localities in which they are found. To the 

 paper was appended a list of the Marine Algse of the Mari- 

 time Provinces, enumerating with notes, some eighty-four 

 species. 



In his paper on the Canadian Species of Picea, Dr. George 

 Lawson pointed out that descriptions of three species of 

 Picea, natives of Canada, have long existed in botanical 

 works. Lumbermen have also commonly recognized as 

 distinct, the white, red and black spruces, and the real or 

 supposed differences that exist in the qualities of their 

 timber. Yet the specific limits of these three important 

 forest trees have not been clearly defined, and some botan- 

 ists of unquestionable authority, doubt whether they are 

 not all forms of one species, passing into each other through 

 intermediate variations. The object of this paper was to 

 define with more precision the specific limits of these trees, 

 and their relations to each other. Attention was called to 

 characters, hitherto overlooked, whereby these species 

 may be more clearly distinguished. An attempt was also 

 made to refer to their proper species, the several names 

 used by the numerous writers who have described these 

 trees. 



In a contribution to our knowledge of " Arctic Plants 

 Occurring in New Brunswick, with Notes on Their Distri- 

 bution," by Bev. James Fowler, the author shows that the 

 laws governing the geographical distribution of plants are 

 not fully understood. Their limits are not determined by 

 parallels of latitude, nor altogether by isothermal lines, 



