PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



61 



Magyar Xov. Lapok. — Cardinal Hayuald, ■ On the gums and 

 resins of the Bible/ — (Supplement) A. Kanitz, ' Plants Roumaniae 

 hucusque cognitae.' 



(Esterr. Bot. Zeitschrt/L — M. Willkomm, ■ The Brassicea of the 

 Spanish-Portuguese Flora.' — G. Beck, ■ On some Orchids of Lower 

 Austria' (concluded). — A. Heimel, 'Botanical Notes.' — S. Schulzer, 

 1 Mycological Notes.' — E. Traxler, 'Localities for Bohemian Plants. 1 

 •V. Borbas, 'Malformed Leaves.' 



American Naturalist. — F. Brendel, c Sketch of N. American 

 Botany.' 



{froceetttugs of &octettc& 



Linnean Society of London. 



December 4, 1879.— Prof. Allman, F.R.S., President, in the 

 chair. — Samuel Wright, St. Neots, Huntingdon ; George Malcolm 

 Thomson, Dunedin, N. Z. ; J. G. Otto Topper, Adelaide ; Major 

 Collet, Kurrum; Henry Byron Spotton, Ontario; John Cameron, 

 Bangalore ; and Sir Samuel Wilson, Victoria, were elected Fellows 

 of the Society. — Dr. Maxwell Masters read a paper "On certain 

 relations between the Morphology and the Functions in the leaves 

 of Conifers." He called attention to the contrasts to be drawn 

 between the leaves of the spruce -firs (Picea) and those of the silver- 

 firs (Abies), as regards their arrangement, relative position, form, 

 relative size, and internal structure, as described by Bertrand, 

 McNab, and others. The leaves of the silver-firs are endowed with 

 a power of motion in virtue of which they are raised or depressed ; 

 the leaves of the spruces, on the other hand, are comparatively 

 motionless. In those cases where the leaves have the power of 

 movement there is usually a well-marked layer of " palisade cells" 

 which are absent in the motionless leaves. This circumstance has 

 led the author to correlate the difference before alluded to with 

 varying degrees of functional activity and with the adaptations 

 manifested to secure as far as possible to each leaf an equally 

 favourable amount of exposure to light, &c, &c. Allusion was 

 also made to the movements of revolving mutation observable in 

 the " leader-shoots" of many Conifers during the season of active 

 growth.— Mr. C. B. Clarke read a paper " n " t«;k«* IWnni** » 

 supplementing the 



On Indian Begonias, 



_ _ author's 

 I 1 lor a of British India. 



account of Indian Begonias in the 



Mr. Clarke treated of the classification of 



the whole genus (i.e., of the whole Order), except Hildebrandtia and 

 R*9<mietU t and maintained that it (the group) can be naturally 

 divided into the six subgenera employed in the Flora of British 

 India. He discards the differences in the stamens and styles for 

 snbgeneric characters, and employs exclusively the structure and 

 dehiscence of the fruit. 



Becemher 18.— Prof. Allman, F.R.S., President, in the chair.— 

 ***• H. Seebohm was elected a Fellow of the Society, and Messrs. 

 A - D. Bartlett, N. E. Brown, of Kew, and F. H. Waterhouse were 



