PLANT BREEDING. 277 as this particular plant seemed unable to contend with the meadow grasses. — Eichard F. Towndrow. Note on Ceiba (see p. 173). — Dr. Prain has called our attention to his paper on the Flora of Narcondam in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. Ixii. (1893), in which he reduces Eriodendron {Ceiba) to Bombax, and intimates his intention of uniting Chorisia, Pachira, and Adansonia with that genus. He points out, from his knowledge of the living plants, that we were in error in following those authors who have united Eriodendron orientale and E. occi- dentale. He states the best one can say of these two species is, that
- ' when dried, their leaves are not very different, and their flowers
are very like. Bombax orientale Spr. is a tree with tapering trunk much buttressed below, with pale grey bark. In Bengal it loses its leaves in January, flowers in February, fruits in March to April, and gets its new leaves towards the end of April. It has small stipules, pale green leaflets, tawny-yellow shaggily hairy petals, fruit shaped like that of a banana, fruiting calyx with an almost even limb. Bombax occidentale Spr. is a tree with a bulging bole, with green bark. In Bengal it loses its leaves in March, and gets its new ones, flowering at same time, immediately. Indeed, the tree does not stand bare at all, for the new leaves are out on some branches before the old have dropped from them. It has huge stipules, silver-grey velvety hairs on its petals, a fruit shaped somewhat like a pear, and a calyx with sinuate dentate limb." — James Britten ; E. G. Baker. Ranunculus tripartitus, DC, in Ireland. — We have received from Mr. R. A. Phillips specimens of Ranunculus tripartitus, DC, discovered by him on April 3rd of the present year, occurring plentifully in a very small lake, close to the sea, among the moun- tainous chffs to the south of Baltimore, Co. Cork. Mr. Phillips's plant has well-developed capillary submersed leaves, and in all respects closely resembles the plant from the West of France. It is very gratifying to have such good R. tripartitus from the British Isles, as Mr. Tellam's plant from Roche, E. Cornwall, though doubtless best included under this species, is not very satisfactory. — H. & J. Groves. NOTICES OF BOOKS, Plant Breeding. By L. H. Bailey. London and New York: Macmillan & Co. 8vo, pp. 293. Prof. L. H. Bailey, the well-known director and experimenta- list of the Cornell University, Ithaca, has elaborated, in the form of a handy and well-printed volume, a series of five lectures on the raising of plants by what is perhaps more conveniently than accurately known as artificial means. *' Plant Breeding " is the suggestive title of Prof. Bailey's book, which affords profitable reading to the practical gardener, and more especially to the gardener who has a natural inclination for the selection and
- crossing " one with another various kinds of plants.
Although botanists have always rent their garments, so to
