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states on p. 90; that valvate means not "in folds", but "arranged like folding doors, "valvæ;" that ovary does not mean "like an egg," (p. 36,) but "that which contains eggs." There are some sentences which a learner would misunderstand, but which the teacher, who knows what the author intended to say, can easily correct; e.g. he appears to state that the stellate form of cell is produced by the mutual pressure of adjacent cells (p. 87.) These, however, are small points, easily corrected in a new edition, and they are pointed out with that view. For the purpose for which the book was written it is well adapted—Part I to give a class of young children their first notions of morphology and classification; Part II, containing a practical experimental introduction to vegetable anatomy and physiology for senior scholars, based upon the South Kensington course. This part, indeed, comprises much information upon the lower forms of vegetable life, which is not usually included in an elementary hook, and more advanced students than those for whom it is intended may learn something from it.

The Mildness of the Winter.—I found a bed of Petasites vulgaris in full flower, on January 17th; and on March 15th, Adora Moschatelina, in a wood.—O. M. Feilden.

A Feathered Visitant.—I have had a very curious visitor—a black and white blackbird—in my garden at Stoke. The markings of his plumage were a good deal like those of the magpie, but with rather more white, which was very conspicuous when he was on the wing. His manners and customs, as well as his voice, were precisely like those of the ordinary blackbird, and he had a fine golden bill. He stayed with us two or three weeks, but has since disappeared, I was greatly in hopes that he would have stayed to build his nest.—John Gulson, Coventry, March 6th, 1878.

The Harebell with White Flowers.—Will any botanical readers inform me of any spots where they have seen Campanula rotundifolia producing white flowers freely? Is there any connection between the colour of the flower and the soil upon which the plant grows? Last year I found the white-flowered harebell growing abundantly on the mountain limestone between Hartington and Buxton, and again at Breedon Hill in Leicestershire, also on the same rock. Is the white variety constant for succeeding years, and has any one over met with white and blue flowers on the same plant?—H.

Is the Arum an Insectivorous Plant?—During some rambles last summer I examined numerous specimens of the common plant known as "Cuckoo-pint," or "Lords and Ladies." Without exception I found within the nearly closed spate a number of small insects, some apparently stupified, others dead, whilst chitinous fragments of others alone remained. The remarkable appearance of the plant—its spotted leaves and strangely shaped and brightly coloured spadix, are well fitted to attract the attention of insects. Hitherto their visits have been considered chiefly in connection with the fertilisation of the tower, but it is possible that other ends may also be observed. My only aim in mentioning the matter now is to call the attention of observers to this plant during the coming summer.—H.