Professor Goodale's Lecture.

The lecture on "Vegetation of the Tropics and South Seas" by Professor Goodale last evening in the Botanical Lecture Room was attended principally by members of the Botanical, Zoological and Natural History Clubs and the Geological Conference. The lecture was illustrated by stereopticon views, which made it highly interesting.

Professor Goodale recounted his journey through India, Ceylon, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, giving views of the palms and all plant life. A grove of cocoanut palms is always a sign of a negro village in Ceylon. The growth and culture of tea is the principal occupation of the inhabitants of this island. Besides the cocoanut, cabbage and pinnate palms, the forests contain a curious growth called rain trees which drip with moisture. Vines called runners or climbers, covered with blossoms cling about the palms to a height of fifty feet. Next to the palm, the bamboo is the most interesting to the botanists. This species grows luxuriantly in Ceylon.

The Australian forests have a dull, sombre appearance, as if the verdure were covered with dust. In the district of Gippslon the graceful ferns grow luxuriantly in picturesque forms and the trees reach a great height. Views were exhibited of the hot springs of New Zealand and of vegetation before and after the eruption, which covered the mountain districts with cinders, showing the complete destruction of all plant life. The lecture closed with a number of pictures of Japan, disclosing the effects of the disastrous earthquakes last fall.