The Warwickshire Herald. — 1886-05-27 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

SUICIDE BY A RANK CASHIER AT ASTON.  the ladies' sewing machine. k very favourable sale rewarded the ladies' undertaking.  INAUGURATION OF A BOTANY CLASS, The inauguration of a Botany Class in connection with the above Institute was celebrated on Thurs. day evening in the Public Hall, Erdington. The hall, which looks at all times exteeding pretty, was made additionally attractive by the tasteful arrangement of plants mid drawings which freely besprinkled it, the latter of which were very well executed by the students in the art classes of the Institute during the past winter. Down each side of the hall were tables containing a large number of specimens of plants, lent by -Alderman J. B. Stone, Mayor of Sutton; while at the far end were displayed a very valuable collection of fossils and • ores, lent and exhibited by Mr. Plante. One of : the subsequent speakers did not fail to take notice of this striking feature, and he caused not a little merriment by stating that " while the plants were lent by Mr. Stone, the stones were lent by Mr. Plante. ' • The seats in the centre of the hall were well tilled, the gentler sex greatly predominating. : The ceremony may be said to have consisted of three parts. The first comprised the inaugural lecture by Mr. Oliver, lecturer on Botany at the Birmingham Midland Institute, the subject being " The Structure and Functions of the Flower.b The second part was given up to the examination of the various specimens of plants, fossils and ores, under the microscope, and to the partaking of refreshinents, of which a bountiful supply was pro. vided through the generosity of Alderman Stone; whilst the third part was entirely devoted to dancing, accompanied by the strain .= of Messrs. Rogers and Priestley' s band. . . .  17recise1y at half-past seven His Worship, Alderman J. B. Stone (President of the Institute), entered, and took the chair, being accompanied by Messrs. Oliver (the lecturer), Martin, Betty, Wa4, S. Taylor, Adcock, Wright, Holyoak, and F. T. Read, Honorary Secretary of the Institute. .  The CHAIRMAN in opening the meeting briefly stated the reasons for which they had been called together, and then went on to state to the general amusement his ignorance of the science of botany, but notwithstanding this he urged upon all present the desirability of joining the class. Mr. Ow-ER began his discourse by cautioning his audience against accepting the Chairman's ignorance, for he was not so ignorant as he professed himself to be, and then went on to point out the advantages and pleasures that were to be derived from a knowledge of this beautiful science of botany. To the young especially wa this knowledge advantageous. In enabled them while out in the country to take an intelligent interest in the flowers that ( hod had caused to grow so pleatiously on every hand, and thus to instructively pass away many a hour that would otherwise be wasted. The lecturer then proceeded to show the structure of a Hower, taking as an illus-• tration the well-known buttercup. This flower was dissected, and its va-ious parts explained in a most able and instructive manner. Mr. Oliver next spoke of the functions of the flower, and explained the process of fertilization, and in order to give his audience as clear a conception ai possible of this process, he drew an illustration on a board; tracing the journey of the foreign grains from their contact with the plant until they reached their embryo state. As to how these foreign grains were brought into contact with the plant, that was done by two agencies—the wind, which blew the grains from one flower to another, and by insects, that thrust their heads into the stigma when ripe, and the pollen adhering to their noses, is in this manner conveyed to some other plant. It is not too much to say that the lecture was unusually instructive and entertaining, and from first to last the eyes of all were kept steadily fixed on him. A hearty and unanimous vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman and Host, and a similar compliment te Messrs Oliver, Bagnall, and others brought the first and most important part of the proceedings to a close. The time allowed for the second part being exceedingly limited, it Was absolutely necessary that in order to get even a glance at the various specimens, not to say the partaking of refreshments, no time should be lost, and it was gratifying to find that so great a number utterly ignored the inner man, devoting the whole of the time to that which provided food for the mind instead. After the room had been cleared the more juvenile portion of the company indulged themselves with dancing, and thus brought a most enjoyable evening to a close. We are pleased to be able to state that a fairly large number of persons gave in their names as willing to become members of the class, and we wish the Committee a hearty (hod speed.  Boy