168 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VoL. XXXVI. 
Dr. Robinson’s admirable presidential address before the Botanical 
Society of America, on * Problems and Possibilities of Systematic 
Botany," is printed in Science of September 27. 
In the Annals of Botany for September, A. H. Church suggests 
that the substitution of a logarithmic spiral in place of the Archime- 
dian spiral for the genetic and secondary spirals in phyllotactic studies 
refers this complex subject to a simple relation to the distribution of 
energy in the growing points. 
Two additional works by Rafinesque — a Florula Lexingtoniensis 
and Zhe American Florist — have been unearthed by W. J. Fox in 
the library of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 
as appears from a note by him in Science of September 27. 
An interesting addition to the literature of myrmecophilous plants 
is a paper presented at the meeting of the British Association last 
summer by Yapp. The ant galleries of two Malayan species of Poly- 
podium are described. An abstract of the paper appears in Mature 
for October 17. 
Papers on the fruit and seed structure (by Lonay) and leaf anatomy 
(by Goffart) of Ranunculacez are contained in the Mémoires de la 
Société Royale des Sciences de Liége, Vol. III, issued in July. 
From a study of the anatomy and embryogeny of Nelumbo, H. L. 
Lyon concludes, in the current volume of Minnesota Botanical Studies, 
that the Nymphzacez should be transferred to the monocotyledonous 
group Helobiz. 
Robinia neomexicana is figured in the Tidskrift of the Svenska 
Tradgaardsforeningen for July-August. 
Numerous popular varieties of Begonia semperflorens are figured 
from photographs in Die Gartenwelt of September 28. 
Several Canadian gentians of the section Crossopetale are 
reviewed by Holm in the Ottawa Naturalist for November. 
In Part II of Vol. VII of the Contributions from the United States 
National Herbarium, Mr. O. F. Cook adduces reasons for believing 
in the American origin of Cocos nucifera. 
Scirpus supinus and its North American allies are reviewed by 
Fernald in Rhodora for October. 
Mr. Eaton’s ninth paper on Equisetum, in the Fern Buletin for 
October, deals with E. litorale. 
