356 Botanical Society of London, on small strips of land, just appearing above water, and surrounded by sedges : the nests are placed in a row, mingled with those of other birds, and are constructed of reeds externally, and weeds inside ; each nest is three or four inches high, and contained on the first of June one egg, of an olive-green colour, spotted irregularly with chocolate, brown, and purple patches. Sterna nigra, Linn. Procured May 24. Found in the stomach beetles. Iris very dark brown, almost approaching to black. Com-mon at the river, where these birds are seen in small companies. * Sterna Hirundo, Linn. Procured May 24. Found in the sto-mach fish. Iris hazel. Frequents the river : common. Breeds on the slips of land that are laid bare by the diminishing of the waters at the river : it makes no nest, but lays its eggs on the ground. On the Crania and Dentition of Carnivora, by Mr. Waterhouse : (see p. 25 of this volume.) BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. November 15. — John Reynolds, Esq., Treasurer, in the Chair. Donations of British plants were announced from several members. Mr. Daniel Cooper called the attention of the meeting to several varieties of British plants which he had selected from the several parcels sent in for distribution. Mr. T. G. R. Rylands communicated notes on "Aspidium lobatum, var. j3. Lonchitidoides." Mr. R. having long doubted the perma-nency of this "variety," but having had but few satisfactory oppor-tunities of judging, came to no decision on the subject. On the 11th of March, 1839, he met with a plant which he considers goes far to prove that it is but casual, since from one root he gathered fronds belonging to both a and (3, and of almost all the grades between ; the following may serve as characters of four of the fronds, speci-mens of which were exhibited. 1. Fronds distinctly bipinnate (var. a.). • 2. Frond sub-bipinnate, upper and lower primary pinnules distinct and auricled, pinnae more or less pinnatifid. 3. Frond sub-bipinnate, upper primary pinnules only distinct, pinnae inciso-serrate. 4. Fronds almost simply pin-nate, only one or two of the upper primary pinnules distinct and scarcely auricled, and those at the bottom of the frond {var. /3). No. 1 Mr. R. considers in all respects lobatum verum, and No. 4 is as far from it as he has ever seen one. He has since had the plant in cultivation, and though small (owing to the confinement of the
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