352 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



Under the title An Introduction to Practical Botany (price 2s.), 

 Messrs Dent have issued, in their Series of Mathematical and 

 Scientific Text-hooks for Schools, a useful and suggestive little 

 volume, the work of Mr. E. H. Davies, B.Sc, of the County School, 

 Barry, Glamorgan. It consists of seventy-eight lessons, in each 

 of which some plant, or part of a plant, is put before the young 

 student, who is encouraged, first, to make definite observations, or 

 perform some simple experiment ; secondly, to make drawings of 

 the object or experiment ; and lastly, to write a clear description 

 of the observations made on the work done and the results 

 obtained. The book should be useful to teachers in elementary 

 and secondary schools. 



The first volume of the useful series of articles on the recent 

 progress and present position of some of the many aspects of 

 modern botany, issued under the title Progressus Bet Botantca, 

 under the able editorship of Dr. Lotsy, of Leiden, has been con- 

 cluded with the issue of a third part. This last instalment, by 

 R. P. van Calear, is a rcsumi of the progress made in the study of 

 immunity and the specific action of bacteria, &c, in the last 

 thirty -seven years. The undoubted success of this first volume, 

 from the botanist's point of view, should encourage the editor and 

 the Association Internationale des Botanistes — under whose 

 auspices it is issued—to continue so useful a w r ork. 



THE vacancy in the Department of Botany, British Museum 

 (Nat. Hist.), caused by the retirement of Mr. V. H. Blackman, has 

 been filled by the appointment of Mr. W. Eric Brooks. Mr. 

 Blackman has been appointed to the professorship of Botany at 

 University College, Leeds. Mr. A. W. Hill, Lecturer in Botany to 

 Cambridge University, has been appointed Assistant Director of 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew. 



The Twelfth Annual Report of the Moss Exchange Club 

 (York : Coultas and Volans, 1907), though styled " Report for the 

 year 1907," is clearly that of work done in 1906. Issued as it is 

 for the benefit of members of the Club, it is also of interest to 

 outsiders as an expression of the activity manifested in the study 

 of mosses and hepatics in this country. Special interest will be 

 felt in the announcement that the projected Moss Census Cata- 

 logue will be issued in a few weeks. In this Catalogue an attempt 

 is made to plot out the distribution of every species and variety of 

 moss in Britain. Owing to the regretted illness of Prof. Barker, 

 its publication has been delayed. We hope that the editors will 

 provide in the Catalogue a bibliography of the papers and collec- 

 tions upon which the Census is based. The greater part of the 

 present report is occupied with an enumeration of the exchange- 

 specimens divided among the members of the club, and a number 

 of instructive critical notes on the plates are inserted in the list. 



We greatly regret to announce the death of Mr. E. A. L- 

 Batters, which took place at his residence at Gerrard's Cross on 

 Aug. 11. We hope to publish a notice of his work in our next 



issue. 



