BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, ETC. 175 
The leaves of eighty plants, eureenere about two-fifths of the 
Dicotyledons of the patanas, have been submitted to a close micro- 
whole, and afterwards for the ‘‘wet’’ and “dry” patana-plants 
Separately. The difference between the two sets of leaves as 
regards Satophytic characters and those serving as protections 
against excessive ete is very shi ght—a result ha ardly to be 
is ee with the habit. Special points bearing on xerophytism 
n the leaf-anatomy of some of the plants were described, and a few 
peti matters of anatomical and phyniclogies! interest were brought 
to notice. 
Ar the meeting of the Society on April 2nd, a paper by Mrs. 
Gépp was read, on the Marine Alge collected at the Maldive and 
Laccadive Islands by Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner. The author stated 
that there appears to be no record of the marine alge of these 
islands. The list now presented includes one new species, Lieb- 
mannia ge ea um, but the bulk of the remainder are already 
k m the Indian Ocean; one plant, Hctocarpus spon, 
Dickie, is interesting as permitti ng a hitherto doubtful ope i 
be cleared t up e material of another, ib ceylanica Harv. 
., allow oa a eos being drawn up of an alga hitherto un- 
described, aa known only in herbaria. The atin number enu- 
merated amounts to twenty-five 
he same meeting Dr. D. v. Gwynne- Vaughan gave a lantern 
Radenetiation of his paper on the Comparative Anatomy of the 
Cyatheacee and other Ferns. He stated that the vascular system at 
the very base of the stem of a young plant of i ie or 
found to be protostelic, and as it advances towards the more 
plicated structure of the mature stem, it passes ‘dirouglt anette 
manen 
a the dec 
becomes continuous from one node of the young plant to the other, 
a solenostelic structure is reached, similar to that found im the 
OS stems of a large number of ferns. It is suggested that 
this series illustrates the manner in which the transition from pro- 
