40 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 
AJkrllrmrmia Sutra 
Botanical Society of Edinburgh, June 13.—Dr. Balfour announced that the Commissioners of "Woods and Forests 
had agreed to form a Botanical Museum in the Royal Botanic Garden, and called upo-n all who were interested to 
contribute liberally, for the public benefit, specimens of "Woods, Fruits, and Vegetable products, articles of "S ege- 
table Manufacture, Fossil Plants, Drawings, &c. Mr. Evans directed attention to a curious instance of the effects 
of the graft upon the stock, which had occurred in a tree at Morningside House, the residence of Mr. J. Deuchar. 
The tree in question is Pyrus Aria, grafted upon P. aucuparia as a stock. Its entire height is 18 feet, and the 
stock forms a clean trunk to the height of 4 feet, where the union of the graft and stock is conspicuously shown. 
At 13 inches from the base of the trunk there are shoots of P. aucuparia, and at the height of \\ feet branches of 
P. Aria appear (being 2|- feet below the point of junction), while farther up the trunk a branch has been acci¬ 
dentally taken off, which is believed to have been P. aucuparia. Mr. M ‘Nah exhibited a peculiar creeping form 
of Sarothamnus scoparius (common Broom), which had been sent from Alderney. Mr. M‘Nab also made a com¬ 
munication on the effects of Lightning on Trees. He remarked:—“ A few days ago I accidentally heard of a tree 
which had been struck by lightning on the 5th instant (June, 1S50), at Pitferrane, Fifeshire, the residence of 
Andrew Buchanan, Esq.; and, being anxious to ascertain the species, I wrote for a small branch, with any history 
which could he given regarding it. I have just received the leaves shown, which prove it to he the Elmus 
montana, or AVych Elm. My object in bringing the notice before the Society is to ascertain from its members 
any varieties of trees known to them as having been struck by the electric fluid. About this time last year a very 
large Oak, on the grounds of John "Wauchope, Esq., of Edmonston, was shattered to pieces; and a few years 
previously a Laburnum, standing close to the Oak, was likewise destroyed. While on a tom over a portion of 
the American continent some years ago, I had several opportunities of observing gigantic trees torn to pieces by 
electric influence. In every instance observed, they were Oaks. During a thunderstorm I found the workmen 
(chiefly in Canada) resorting to the Beech trees for protection, from an idea that they were not liable to he struck 
by lightning; certain it is that I saw none, notwithstanding the prevalence of large sized Beeches in many dis¬ 
tricts. The Elm above alluded to at Pitferrane had an iron fence standing close to it, which was supposed by the 
inhabitants to have had some influence in attracting the fluid. The above observations are thrown out, in the 
hope of ascertaining if there be anything in the composition of one species of tree rendering it less liable than 
another to electric influence.” Mr. Brand stated that he knew a marked instance of a Beech in Aberdeenshire 
having been struck by lightning. The Horse Chestnut and Ash were mentioned as having been struck. Speci¬ 
mens of Anacharis alsinastrum, from Watford Locks, Northamptonshire, were exhibited from Mr. T. Kirk. [Our own 
experience of the manner and rate of the growth of this plant leads us to believe it is not a native of this country.] 
Botanical Trip to Aberdeen. —The Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh usually devotes the 
Saturdays throughout the summer session to excursions in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, thus enabling the 
botanical students to put into practice in the fields the instructions received in the class room. These excursions 
have never before been to any great distance from Edinburgh, a long Highland tour being generally undertaken 
at the end of the session. On the 30th of June, however, the Professor, accompanied by upwards of a hundred 
students of his class, set out on an expedition of a more extended kind than had ever before been undertaken in a 
single day by any party of botanists. They started from Edinburgh by the Northern Railway at 5, on the 
morning of the day mentioned, and proceeded northwards, passing through the counties of Fife, Perth, Forfar, 
and Kincardine, to the city of Aberdeen (distant from Edinburgh about 135 miles), which they reached between 
10 and 11 am. After breakfast in the Royal Hotel, the party visited King’s College, to admire the antique relics 
which it contains, and being there joined by Dr. Dickie, Professor of Natural History in Queen’s College, Belfast, 
they proceeded some miles to the north, passing the picturesque bridge of Don, to the woods and moors at Den- 
more. Here every spud was unsheathed, and the botanists, spreading themselves through the woods, soon 
replenished their boxes with a goodly supply of the floral rarities which the place produced, such as Linnsea 
borealis, Drosera anglica, and rotundifolia, Sedurn villosum, Trientalis europcea, Veronica scutellata, Goodyera 
repens, Hahenaria bifolia, Pyrola minor, Mimulus luteus, Schcenus nigricans. The botanical army then re¬ 
mounted their vehicles and returned to the sandy Links of Aberdeen, where a number of maritime species were 
added to their stores. Among the more interesting plants there collected, we may mention Cerastium atrovirens, 
Carex incurva, Potamogeton pectinatus, Triticum junceum, and Thalictrum minus. They then visited the Granite 
Polishing Yv r orks, the Marischal College, the Medical Buildings, and the New Market Place—the formidable 
appearance of the hand, with their noisy tin boxes, and other botanical appurtenances, creating quite a sensation 
in the northern city. After dinner in the Royal Hotel, they entered the train at 6 p.m., for Edinburgh, which 
they reached at a late hour. The weather was delightful, and altogether the excursion was an exceedingly plea¬ 
sant one ; for although 270 miles were gone over by rail, any uneasiness from the long ride was prevented by the 
interesting character of the country through which the line lay—embracing the fertile vale of Strathmore, and 
other districts of agricultural celebrity, with here and there a neat little village, a range of heath-clad hills, or a 
placid lake with its white swans and water-lilies floating on the unruffled surface. 
V7e understand that the Professor has arranged for an expedition to the Clova mountains, with a party of his 
students, to he accomplished in the incredibly short space of two days. 
