140 
REVIEW.-METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. 
The very attractive character both of the ancient town of Shrews¬ 
bury and of the surrounding country makes it probable that this 
Meeting of the Union will be of unusual interest. Three such Excur¬ 
sions could probably be offered by but few localities within the 
boundaries of the Midland Union, and the archaeology of Shrewsbury 
itself will furnish abundant interest to those whose tastes lie more 
particularly in that direction. 
It only remains for the Members to attend the Meeting in such 
numbers as to repay the labour that the Local Committee have given to 
make the Meeting a great success. 
\ 
Synopsis of the Natural Orders of British Flowering Plants. By Joseph 
W. Oliver. —London : Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. 
This very handy little book is compiled for the use of students pre¬ 
paring for the Science and Art and other examinations in Botany. It 
contains within the compass of eighteen pages the general characters 
of each British natural order of flowering plants ; together with the 
number of genera and species found throughout the world, the number 
of genera and species found in Great Britain, and the scientific names 
of the leading British genera. To the overtaxed student it will be a 
great boon, giving him, in small space and at little cost, information 
only to be found in much more costly books. If the advice given 
by the compiler be strictly followed, the knowledge gained will be of the 
greatest service in the examinations. The arrangement is mainly that 
of Bentliam’s Handbook, and the diagnosis of the natural orders that 
given in the Student’s Flora. The type is small but clear, and the 
book a very convenient size for the pocket. J.E.B. 
METEOKOLOGICAL NOTES.— March, 188G. 
Pressure was unsteady till the 6tli, when the mercury rose rapidly, 
reaching 30500 inches, its highest point, on the 11th; thence it 
fluctuated downwards to the end of the month. The mean tempera¬ 
ture was about one degree below the average. The first eighteen 
days were decidedly cold, the maximum being below forty degrees on 
eleven days. From the 18tli to the end of the month more genial 
weather was experienced. The highest maxima were 6-1-9° at Lough¬ 
borough and 64-0° at Henley-in-Arden on the 24tli ; 63-2° at Hodsock 
on the 21st; and 61-0° at Strelley and Coston Rectory on the 24tli. 
In the rays of the sun, 126-6° at Hodsock on the 6tli ; 116-8° at Lough¬ 
borough, and 107-2° at Strelley on the 25th. The lowest minima were 
6-5° at Coston Rectory, 8-4° at Hodsock, 13 - 3° at Strelley, 13-5° at 
Henley-in-Arden, and 16-1° at Loughborough, all occurring on the 7th. 
The thermometer on the grass registered 5-4° below zero at Hodsock 
on the 7tli, 10-5° at Strelley on the 6th, and 14-6° at Loughborough on 
the 7tli. Rainfall was above the average, the total values of rain or 
melted snow being 3-15 inches at Strelley, 2-70 inches at Loughborough, 
2-58 inches at Coston Rectory, 2-35 inches at Hodsock, and 2-21 inches 
at Henley-in-Arden. Heavy rain fell in some districts on the 30tli, 
when 1-23 inches were collected at Strelley, and 0-82 inches at Lough¬ 
borough. The number of “rainy days” varied from fourteen to twenty. 
