﻿412 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



pean continent, who are mainly dissociated from taxonomical bot- 

 any and morphology. Hence a certain looseness and redundance in 

 terminology, and now and then such confusion as the author of 

 these lectures refers to in his preface, — where we learn that the 

 physiologists speak of the normally lower surface of a leaf as ven- 

 tral and of the upper as the dorsal, a sort of "nous avons change 

 tout cela " which will astonish the morphologists. a. g. 



9. A Preliminary Synopsis of North American Carices, in- 

 cluding those of Mexico, Central America, and Greenland, with 

 the American Bibliography of the Genus ; by L. II. Bailey, Jr., 

 is the modest title of a very elaborate memoir of about 100 pages, 

 just issused as a separate edition of a paper published by the 

 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in the 22d volume of 

 its Proceedings. It is headed as a " Contribution from the Her- 

 barium of Harvard University," where much of the work was done. 

 It will be prized by our numerous botanists who take a critical 

 interest in the vast genus Carex. The author is one of the 

 professors of the State Agricultural College of Michigan. 



III. Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 



1. British Association in Birmingham. — An unusual feature 

 of the British Association this year was the occupancy of the 

 Presidential chair by a member from Canada, Sir J. Wm, Dawson, 

 of Montreal. The inaugural address of the President recognizes 

 in the fact an augury of future international union in scientific 

 work, if not an International Association, remarking that " As a 

 Canadian, as a past President of the American Association and 

 now honored with the Presidency of this Association, I may be 

 held to represent in my own person the scientific union of the 

 British Islands, of the various Colonies and of the great Republic, 

 which, whatever the difficulties attending its formal accomplish- 

 ment at present, is certain to lead to an actual and real union for 

 scientific work." The address was devoted to various questions in 

 geological science under the general subject of the history (includ- 

 ing the permanency or not) of the Atlantic Ocean basin. Other 

 opening addresses were by Professor G. H.Darwin in the Mathe- 

 matical and Physical Section; Professor Wm. Crookes, in the 

 Chemical; Professor T. G. Bonney, in the Geological (relating 

 especially to Britain's Geological history); Professor W >r. Car- 

 ruthers, in the Biological ; Sir George Campbell, in the Anthro- 

 pological ; Sir F. J. GoLPSMiD, in the Geographical, and Sir 

 James N. Douglass in the section of Mechanical Science. These 

 able Addresses, together with reports of the work of Committees 

 and Sections, will be found in the numbers of Nature for the 

 month of September, commencing with No. 879, or that for Sep- 

 tember 2d. 



OBITUARY. 



Colonel Charles Whittlesey died in Cleveland, Ohio, Oct- 

 ober 18th, two weeks after entering on his seventy-ninth year. 

 A notice of his geological and other work is deferred. 



