250 



Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 



variety of species is not very remarkable from the comparative scar- 

 city of dripping rocks, yet in one shadowy ravine at least the beau- 

 tiful Jungermannia tomentella is found. Junyermannia resupinuta is 

 rather abundant, and Jungermannia ciliata is excessively common. 

 The Fungi are pretty numerous, arid, as might be expected, the 

 Agaric tribe in particular is profusely scattered on the grassy decli- 

 vities of the hills in the autumnal season. The paper contained a 

 very copious list of habitats, many of the specimens were exhibited, 

 and Mr. Lees proposed to treat of the Cryptogamic vegetation of the 

 hills in a future paper. The Society will thus possess specimens of 

 all the plants mentioned in Mr. Lees's papers on the botany of this 

 district. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



This Society held its sixth meeting for the session on Thursday 

 14th April, Professor Christison in the Chair. 



John Wilkinson, Esq., was elected a Resident Fellow ; and Fre- 

 derick M. Adamson, Esq., Glasgow, a Non-resident Fellow. 



Donations to the Library and Herbarium were reported from Miss 

 Harvey, Rev. A. Rutherford, and Messrs. Babington, Gutch, Tatham, 

 Lindsay- Carnegie, Newbould, Peacock and Evans. 



The following communications were read : — 



1 . Professor Balfour of Glasgow made some remarks on the na- 

 tural order Lecythidacece, and exhibited various specimens of Lecythis 

 and Couratari from Brazil. 



Dr. Balfour also exhibited specimens of Trigonocarpon olivaforme, 

 and other fossil Palm -fruits imbedded in sandstone, which had been 

 collected at Stevenston, Ayrshire, by the Rev. David Landsborough. 



Dr. Balfour also showed specimens of Snake-nut brought by Dr. 

 W. H. Campbell from Guiana. (See Ann. N. Hist. vol. v. p. 202, and 

 Plate V.) 



2. Dr. Balfour read extracts from a letter which he had received 

 from Mr. Edward Forbes, dated H. M.S. Beacon, Macri, Asia Minor, 

 February 28, 1842. — Mr. Forbes states, " After returning in October 

 from a round of the islands of the Archipelago, a cruise which was 

 exceedingly fruitful in results as regarded marine zoology * and ter- 

 tiary geology, but in consequence of the season almost fruitless in 

 botany, I found the Beacon at Paros with half her crew laid up with 

 fever, one of her officers dead, and all in bad spirits * * * *. From 

 Paros I set sail in our little schooner to the shores of Asia Minor, 

 and remained in her from October to the end of the year. I was then 

 able to make my promised excursion to the Taurus, ascending the 

 mountains to the height of 9000 feet, and journeying among them 

 for fourteen days ; but, though I loaded a mule with boards and 

 paper, I grieve to say I could not fill them, for almost everything 

 had gone out of flower. 



" As this country, especially the alpine part (I speak of Lycia), 

 has been visited by no botanist, 1 gathered every vegetable fragment 



* The shells dredged up from 200 fathoms were most of them identical 

 with those now found in a fossil state. 



