Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 205 down, and had the appearance of being powdered. The egg of this Quail is of a pale buff colour, 1 inch and yV^h in length, by yo^hs of an inch in width. I take this opportunity of bringing to the notice of the members of this Society distinguishing marks between the Rock Quail and the Grey and Black-breasted Quail, and of proposing that the former species should not be confounded with the two last. The distinguish-ing marks of the former, the Rock Quail, are the stoutness and depth of the beak in proportion to its length, the much more rounded form of the wing, the secondaries and tertials being much more equal in size with the primaries than those of the Grey and Rain Quail ; the much more defined scaly protection of the legs and feet in the Rock Quail, and what I believe the most disthiguishing mark, the smaller number of eggs laid by the Rock Quail. I believe that the Grey and Rain, or Black-breasted Quail, lay eight or nine eggSy the Rock Quail not more thanybwr. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. December 13th, 1855. — Professor Balfour, President, in the Chair, Colonel Madden was elected President for the ensuing year. A considerable number of foreign botanists were elected Hon. Members. The following papers were read : — 1. "Report on the State of the Society's Herbarium." By the Curator. 2. *' Notes of a Botanical Trip to Ben Lawers and neighbouring Mountains in August 1855." By Prof. Balfour. This appears to have been a very successful trip. It was stated that the alpine plants flowered remarkably well in the summer of 1855. Amongst the plants found may be mewtionxedi Poly podium alpestre and P. flexile^ and Cystopteris montana. The latter grew in a different place from that where Mr. W. Wilson originally de-tected it. Mr. J. Backhouse has recently gathered it in Caenlochan Glen, in Forfarshire. 3. " Report on Musci collected during the same trip." By Dr. Greville. 4. " Additional List of Mosses." By Mr. W. Nichol. 5. "On the rare Lichens of Ben Lawers." By Mr. H. Mac-millan. 6. " List of Desmidese." By Mr. H. G. Stewart. 7. " List of Diatomacese." By Prof. Gregory. 8. " Geological Notes." By Mr. Hector. The above-enumerated papers, 2-7, all relate to the results of the same trip, and argue well for the attention paid by Dr. Balfour's
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