Miscellaneous Notes. 
T i 
Thu Problrm of Reference in Scientific Literature. 
The opening years of the present century are witnessing the 
progress of several attempts to deal with the ever increasing 
difficulty of reference to published work in science. The Royal 
Society International Catalogue has now made considerable 
progress, and the beginning of the present year sees an important 
advance in this direction so far as botanical literature is concerned, 
the taking over of the well-known Botanisches Centralblatt by the 
“Association Internationale des Botanistes,” founded last August at 
Geneva. Applications for membership of the association should be 
made to Dr. J. P. Lotsy, Oude Rijn 33a, Leiden, Holland, who is 
Editor-in-chief of the new Centralblatt. Members will pay 25/- per 
annum and receive the jonrnal post-free. The latter has been 
organized on business-like lines, staffs of specialist editors for the 
different branches of the science having been appointed in the 
various countries. The re-organized Centralblatt, which is to 
contain abstracts of all important botanical publications and very 
full lists of current literature, should be invaluable to every 
working botanist. 
The first number (January 3rd) which has just reached us, 
shows that the old form of the Centralblatt has been kept in 
practically every detail, the printer indeed being the same as before, 
while the new publisher is Brill, of Leiden. There is an interesting 
account, by Dr. Lotsy, the secretary and principal editor, of the 
origin of the “Association Internationale,” from which it appears 
that schemes for originating a really efficient general botanical 
reference-organ originated separately in Europe and America, and 
it was by the co-operation of their promoters that the present 
organization took practical shape. There is also a list of the specia 
editors for the different countries and a complete list of members of 
the “ Association,” from which the geographically very widespread 
support of the scheme is obvious. We regret to see however that 
the British Isles are responsible for only 29 members as against 84 
in the United States, 56 in Germany and 49 in Prance. We hope 
that some of our readers may help to bring the British membership 
up to a more respectable figure. Of the value of the undertaking 
and the duty of all botanists to support it there can be no doubt. 
