176 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



exhibited principally to draw attention to the method of mounting 

 in some instances, certain of the specimens being mounted on 

 sheets of black paper, instead of the ordinary white. In certain 

 cases, as for instance with white and yellow flowers, or with many 

 grasses, the colour of the flower is shown up much better by the 

 contrast ; and in others, where this is not conspicuously the case, 

 the black background produces a restfulness to the eye which 

 probably, quite apart from colour contrast, is an advantage. It 

 is not suggested that in all cases, or for herbarium purposes, there 

 is any advantage gained, but for exhibition purposes and for a 

 certain class of plant it seems an improvement on the ordinary 

 white sheet. The surface should of course have as little glaze as 

 possible, and a paper should be chosen which has been found to 

 bear considerable exposure to light without discoloration. 



Mr. H. W. Eidley has returned to England having retired on 

 a pension from the Directorship of the Botanic Gardens, Singa- 

 pore, a post which he had held since 1888. The older generation 

 of botanists will remember that before leaving England Mr. Eidley 

 spent some years as an Assistant in the Department of Botany of 

 the British Museum ; during his period of service, he assisted in 

 transferring the Collections from the old Museum at Bloomsbury 

 to the new Natural History Museum at South Kensington. 

 During his term of office in the East Mr. Eidley has found time 

 for botanical exploration in the Malay Peninsula, and has sent 

 large series of specimens to the herbaria both at Kew and the 

 British Museum. 



Acting on behalf of Miss Fryer, Mr. Charles Bailey has trans- 

 mitted to the Department of Botany of the British Museum the 

 valuable collection of British Potamogetons made by the late Mr. 

 Alfred Eryer. The collection contains more than 5000 sheets of 

 specimens, beautifully prepared and selected to illustrate the 

 remarkable variation in the different species and forms. It is 

 much to be regretted that Mr. Eryer was unable to complete his 

 Monograph of the British Pondweeds, but it is matter for con- 

 gratulation that his working collection has been preserved in 

 excellent condition, and having been presented to the National 

 Herbarium will be available for study. 



At the Eoyal Geographical Society's meeting on April 22nd, 

 Mr. W. E. Kitson gave an interesting account of his work in 

 Southern Nigeria. Mr. Kitson spent five years in the country in 

 Government service, but found time to make valuable observations 

 on the geology and natural history of the province, as w^ell as on 

 its inhabitants. He has presented a small collection of plants to 

 the National Herbarium ; among them are some interesting addi- 

 tions to the flora, including a few novelties. 



