46 BOTANY. 
How tHe Burrato Grass Disappears.—Prof. Mudge in an inte- 
resting letter in the “Kansas Farmer” on northwestern Kansas, 
gives some interesting facts as to the gradual disappearance of 
the buffalo grass and the incoming of other grasses before the 
advent of civilized men. He says: 
“The steadiness and regularity of this change is interestin 
Seventeen years ago the buffalo grass covered the hills and ae 
ries natal Manhattan, but it has been gone many years. Six 
ago, when we first visited.the forks of the Sire we 
hound it ev ‘ery where except close to the river bank. Two years 
later, the blue stems had possession of half the bottom. Now 
the buffalo grass has entirely left the latter ground, and is fast 
vanishing from the high prairie. In November, 1866, we visited 
Smith and Phillips counties, then unsettled, ae found butialo 
grass in full possession, but this summer it had disappeared to the 
extent of one-half in the bottoms, and the tall grasses had become 
intermingled with it. On the high lands the change had already 
begun, but to a limited extent. On the Prairie Dog and at the 
upper portions of the Middle Fork, we found the “change just 
commencing. In crossing from Cedarville to Bull City in Osborne 
county, we ‘noticed that the buffalo grass had left the divide to the 
extent of one-third, and the coarser grasses above named had 
taken its place. 
We thus record a few of these changes, that others may notice 
the regularity and rapidity of the disappearance of the buffalo 
grass.” 
Hepaticen Cupenses WricutiaNe£. — Under tickets with this 
heading Mr. Charles Wright has distributed a few sets (varying 
from two hundred to one hundred and fifty species) of Hepatice 
collected by him in Cuba several years ago. They have in the 
_ meantime been studied by Gottsche of Altona, who is the prin- 
cipal authority in Hepatic mosses, and are named by him. The 
- authentic names are given upon the tickets. The sets are to be 
disposed of, at ten dollars the hundred specimens, upon applica- 
_ tion to Mr. Wright, at the Herbarium of Harvard University. 
A Grasp Hersarium. — The herbarium of Columbia college, 
New York, is to have added to it the immense collection of Dr. 
Meissner, the distinguished Professor of the University of Basle. 
‘This herbarium contains 63,000 species, and is purchased for the 
college through the liberality of J. J. Crooke, Esq., a wealthy 
S scientist. The present herbarium of the college is the 
Ate one of Dr. John TE and is ry rich in 
