LINNEAN SOCIETY. 61 
of the intensity of light on the structure and arrangement 
of assimilatory parenchym.’—A. F. W. Se chimper, ‘ Researches on 
the origin of Starch-granules.’ 
Proceedings of Societies. 
- 
_ Linnean Socrety or Lonpon. 
December 2nd, 1880.—Prof. Allman, F.R.S., President, in the 
chair. — The following ero were elected Fellows of the 
Society :— Messrs. F. A. Canton, C. 2 Cory, Charles Faweett, 
Charles L. Jackson, Paul H. ME Gillivra , R. W. Emerson M‘Ivor, 
and Ernest L. Sellon.—Mr. Thomas Christy drew attention toa 
series of Agarics from Brisbaps, Queensland, forwarded him by Dr. 
Bancroft ; and afterwards showed and made remarks on some 
fruits of a species of Capsicum from Southern Europe, distinguished 
by a short ovate shape and their total absence of pungene 
The Rev. G. Henslow Lieb ATR the peculiarities of a malformed 
flower “ik of Ver igi nigrum.—The Secretary read a paper 
in this Journal for 1879 (p. 827); and d Mr. Townsend has Bios 
penpeied us an abstract of his paper, which will appear in our next 
umber.—An important lengthy communication, ‘‘ On the Conifers 
of J apan,” ay Dr. Maxwell Masters, was read in abstract; it deals 
with their structure, affinities, synonymy, and geographical distri- 
bution. There are thirteen genera recorded in Japan, whereof one 
only is peculiar to the pace ats and they comprise forty-one species, 
exclusive of varieties and ue natives ; twenty- oe are ipa pyr 
ine or ten species are common to Japan and the mainland of 
N.E. Asia, and other re point ic a wide Feet adie 
cally extremely small, but when representative species of Conifers 
are taken into account the relation is closer, a less than that 
illustrated by other orders of flowering plan Dr. Asa Gray 
Supported by Prof. Oliver believe an Faas exists between 
the floras of Tertiary Central Europe and the recent floras of the 
Hastern American States and Japan. However this may be, 
Masters lays some stress on the probability of a dispersal from a 
Japanese centre, and, among other subsidiary reasons, adds the 
migration southwards from the polar regions, now admitted b 
botanists on all sides. The paper concludes with an enumeration 
0 the known and rare species of Conifers of Japan, and much 
interesting matter connected therewith. 
