260 
PROCEEDINGS OF NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES. 
HULL LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 
At the meeting of this society on March 6, Mr. Adams, of London, read a 
paper on an apparatus for solidifying carbonic acid, which he illustrated by a 
number of drawings. In the course of the lecture he gave an account of the 
various experiments which he had made both to liquify and to solidify carbonic 
acid.—W. H. Dikes, Esq., read a very interesting paper written by a gentleman 
now deceased, on the subject of the “ Geography of Botany,” or the consideration 
of plants with reference to climate, and the endeavour to refer the phenomena of 
their growth and distribution to external causes. After slightly sketching the 
history of the science, Mr. Dikes proceeded to give an account of its present state, 
and to demonstrate some of those points which make its details valuable. With 
this view he first noticed the influence which the elements of heat, light, moisture, 
soil, and atmosphere, produced on plants; and then proceeded to illustrate the 
laws of climate which he had laid down, by tracing, in a cursory manner, the 
progress of vegetation from the Poles to the Equator. The paper concluded by a 
number of interesting observations on the causes which have contributed to pro¬ 
duce the distribution of plants.—A vote of thanks was given to Mr. Dikes for 
his valuable communication .—Hull Packet , March 9, 1838. 
UNION OF THE CHELTENHAM HORTICULTURAL AND FLORAL 
SOCIETY, AND THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE ZOOLOGICAL, BO¬ 
TANICAL, AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The Cheltenham Horticultural and Floral Society has become one with the Glou¬ 
cestershire Zoological, Botanical, and Plorticultural Society. This union was com¬ 
pleted at an adjourned meeting of the members of the former Society, which took 
place on Tuesday, January 30th, at which meeting the report of the Committee 
appointed at the annual general meeting, in December, to consider the proposition 
made by the Secretary of the Zoological Society for that porpose, was received 
and adopted. From this report, and the recommendations and provisions which 
it contained, it was evident that the Committee had bestowed considerable atten¬ 
tion upon the subject in all its details, and had, after mature deliberation, come 
to the conclusion that the objects of the Floral Society would henceforth be best 
promoted and secured by its becoming identified with the Zoological Society. 
The privileges of the present members of the former Society are to be strictly 
preserved to them, and they are in addition to enjoy the advantage of admission 
to the gardens of the latter on the days of floral exhibitions. These will take 
