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BOTANY. 635 
stains (and perhaps wisely) from a critical discussion of points 
of synonymy and affinity ; yet it is a work that goes far towards 
filling a wide gap in marine mammalogy, to which subject it is a 
most welcome and important contribution. The publishers have 
spared no pains, apparently, to make the work attractive, and the 
illustrations are generally of a high order of execution. The 
work is very appropriately inscribed by the author to the memory 
of Louis Agassiz.— J. A. A. 
BOTANY. ; 
Borany or WiıLkes Sooru Paciric EXPLORING EXPEDITION. — 
Since the lamented death of Dr. Torrey, his report on the Botan- 
ical collections made by the naturalist of Wilkes expedition on 
our western AmericAn coast, has been printed under the care of 
Prof. Gray. It makes the larger part of the 17th volume of the 
results of that expedition, of which, like the rest, only 100 copies 
are printed by Congress. A small number of extra copies have, 
however, been secured, at private expense ; these are bound up with 
the preceding part of the volume, devoted to the Lower Crypto- 
gamia of the expedition (Lichens, Algæ and Fungi) and the large 
Plates being folded and bound in, the whole makes a stout royal 
{arto volume, with 29 plates. The Naturalists’ Agency has this 
on sale, at ten dollars. The mosses of the same expedition by 
Sullivant, which form the first part of this same volume in the 
sovernment copies, in the extra edition have the letter-press made 
up into imperial folio pages, in double columns, to match the 26 
great folio plates. A very few copies of this handsome volume 
remain in the hands of the late Mr. Sullivant’s executors, and 
` Can be had for ten dollars each. 
‘ INFLUENCE or Forests on THE RAINFALL. —Àt a recent meet- 
0g of the French Academy M. M. Fautra and Sarquiau read a 
note relative to this subject. They found from experiments made 
M A forest of more than 500 hectares,* and also on a plain free 
ftom trees situated about 300 yards from the forest, that much 
oe rain fell in the wooded part than on the plain. 
* A hectare is 11,960 English square yards. 
