WCP2182

[1]¹

6 Park Village East

London N. W.

March 3rd 1886

My dear Sir

I have no doubt the review of Kerner you allude to is mine: but I am afraid I can help you with very little fresh information on the subject. I think you will find the best résumé of article ^observations in any branch of Botany except descriptive & systematic to be the Record of Current Researches in the biannually Journal of the R. [illeg.] Microscopical Society.² [2] I have looked through vols. from 1880 (except 1885 my copy of which is at the binders) without finding anything bearing on the subject. In the Transactions of the Vienna Akad. der Wissenschaften in 1885 there is a paper by [illeg.] on the transport of seeds of Compositae an abstract of which will appear in the Journal of the R.M.S^y. for April.

In an article on "Air as a Germ-carrier" (Journ. R. M. S. 1880 p. 482) in the statement "coarse & fine dust is easily carried over in the stream of air."³ Is there nothing on the weight of sp. &c of particles of volcanic dust in the [3] very numerous articles & letters on the Eruption of Krakatoa which appeared in "Nature" for a considerable time after the eruption?

I am now quite disposed to agree with you that too little importance has been attached by botanists to this mode of the dispersion of seeds.

I am very sorry that I can send you so little information on the subject; if I meet with anything I will let you know.

Believe me | very truly yrs. | Alfred W. Bennett⁴ [signature]

I do not think the "Journal of Bot." will yield anything.⁵

[4]⁶