Morley of Darwin's phraseology in regard to. -discussion on. -lepidoptera and display of. -Wallace on. -Darwin's discussion on origin. -in female animals. -in plumage of male and female birds. -of seeds and fruits. -Shaw on. -standards of.
Bedford, flint implements found near.
Beech, in Chonos I. -in T. del Fuego and Chili. -Miquel on distribution.
Bee-Ophrys (Ophrys apifera), see Bee-Orchis.
Bee-Orchis, Darwin's experiments on crossing. -fertilisation. -self-fertilisation. -intermediate forms between Ophrys arachnites and.
Bees, combs. -Haughton on cells of. -and instinct. -referred to in "Descent of Man." -New Zealand clover and. -acquisition of power of building cells. -Darwin's observations on. -agents in fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers. -as pollen collectors. -difference between sexes. -H. Muller on. -and parthenogenesis. -regular lines of flight at Down.
Beet, graft-hybrids.
Beete-Jukes, alluded to in De la Beche's presidential address.
Beetles, bivalves distributed by. -Forel's work on. -nest-inhabiting. -stag-. -stridulating organs.
"Befruchtung der Blumen," H. Muller's, the outcome of Darwin's "Fertilisation of Orchids."
Begonia, monstrous flowers. -B. frigida, Hooker on.
Begoniaceae, genera of.
Behring Straits, spreading of plants from.
Belize, coral reefs near.
Bell, on Owen's "Edinburgh Review" article.
Bell, Sir C., "Anatomy of Expression."
Belt, T., on conspicuously coloured animals distasteful to birds. -letter to. -"The Naturalist in Nicaragua."
Ben Nevis, Ice-barrier under.
Benson, Miss, on Chalazogamy in Amentiferae.
Bentham, George (1800-83): son of Sir Samuel Bentham, and nephew of Jeremy, the celebrated authority on jurisprudence. Sir Samuel Bentham was at first in the Russian service, and afterwards in that of his own country, where he attained the rank of Inspector-General of Naval Works. George Bentham was attracted to botany during a "caravan tour" through France in 1816, when he set himself to work out the names of flowers with De Candolle's "Flore Francaise." During this period he entered as a student of the Faculte de Theologie at Tours. About 1820 he was turned to the study of philosophy, probably through an acquaintance with John Stuart Mill. He next became the manager of his father's estates near Montpellier, and it was here that he wrote his first serious work, an "Essai sur la Classification des Arts et Sciences." In 1826 the Benthams returned to England, where he made many friends, among whom was Dr. Arnott; and it was in his company that Bentham, in 1824, paid a long visit to the Pyrenees, the fruits of which was his first botanical work, "Catalogue des Plantes indigenes des Pyrenees, etc." 1826. About this time Bentham entered Lincoln's Inn with a view to being called to the Bar, but the greater part of his energies was given to helping his Uncle Jeremy, and to independent work in logic and jurisprudence. He published his "Outlines of a New System of Logic" (1827), but the merit of his work was not recognised until 1850. In 1829 Bentham finally gave up the Bar and took up his life's work as a botanist. In 1854 he presented his collections and books (valued at 6,000 pounds) to the Royal Gardens, Kew, and for the rest of his life resided in London, and worked daily at the Herbarium. His work there began with the "Flora of Hong Kong," which was followed by that of Australia published in 1867 in seven volumes octavo. At the same time the "Genera Plantarum" was being planned; it was begun, with Dr. Hooker as a collaborator, in 1862, and concluded in 1883. With this monumental work his labours ended; "his strength...suddenly gave way...his visits to Kew ended, and lingering on under increasing debility, he died of old age on September 10th last" (1883.) The amount of work that he accomplished was gigantic and of the most masterly character. In speaking of his descriptive work the writer (Sir J.D. Hooker) of the obituary notice in "Nature" (October 2nd, 1884), from which many of the above facts are taken, says that he had "no superior since the days of Linnaeus and Robert Brown, and he has left no equal except Asa Gray" ("Athenaeum," December 31st, 1850; "Contemporary Review," May, 1873; "George Bentham, F.R.S." By Sir J.D.