THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 171 
the party from Fig Tree Wharf. The Rev. W. W. Watts 
was the leader, our object being to collect as many 
mosses as possible in the short spell at our disposal. Mr. 
W. W. Froggatt, Mr. W. B. Gurney, and Mr. E. Cheel 
were also with us to give any information on insects and 
general botany which might be desired. Mrs. Finckh kindly 
looked after the ‘billy, and afternoon tea and refreshments 
made the social side of our excursion as successful as our 
scientific search. We secured a number of beautiful mosses, 
which are enumerated below. Already some of the bush 
flowers were flowering freely, the bushes of Olearia ramu- 
losus being especially beautiful. The bunches of bush 
flowers on the launch as we returned made a marvellous 
show. The days are rather short yet for extended excur- 
sions, and those who were moss-hunters had to walk hard 
and make the afternoon strenuous to secure so many fine 
specimens; but the result was an ample reward for our - 
labour. The attendance was the largest at any of our 
excursions yet held, there being over sixty present. 
1D, Sy, 18, 
RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
Linnean Society, N.S. Wales. Part IV. of the volume for 
1911 contains several papers of considerable general interest. 
Mr. A. H. 8. Lucas, M.A., records his analysis of the gases 
in the floats of vesicular sea-weeds. These are shown to con- 
sist of a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, the former gas 
being present in considerably smaller proportion than in at- 
mospheric air. The evidence seems to indicate that the 
gases are obtained by the plant from solution in the sur- 
rounding water, and are passed from cell to cell by the dif- 
fusing sap until finally liberated in the vesicles. 
Analysis of the gas contained in the balloons of the 
Queensland vine—Cardiospermum, mentioned on another 
page, showed it to consist of ordinary air. 
Another interesting paper, illustrated with plates, is that 
by Mr. D. McAlpine, on the fibro-vascular system of the 
apple. 4 
Tn addition to the usual taxonomic index, a very useful 
general index is now provided with each annual volume. 
That for the present volume is most comprehensive, and adds 
greatly to the usefulness of the publication. 
~ Australian Museum.—Two parts of the Records have been 
recently issued. One is devoted to descriptions of new and 
noteworthy shells in the Museum collection, by Mr. Hedley. 
