PROGRESS OF BOTANY IN SCOTLAND 221 



" Scottish Naturalist," and its successor the " Annals of 

 Scottish Natural History," the publications of the natural 

 history societies of Berwick, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Glasgow, 

 Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen, Peterhead, Inverness, and other 

 towns, and of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, must all 

 be frequently referred to in order to realise how active has 

 been the search, ho\v successful the results, and how many 

 workers have aided during the latter half of last century in 

 the effort to render the records less imperfect. 



A few local lists of the vascular plants of counties or 

 more limited areas have also been issued since the appearance 

 of the second edition of " Topographical Botany," as separate 

 works, such as Smith's " Botany of Ayrshire," or as supple- 

 ments to books dealing with the districts, as in Wood's 

 " East Neuk o' Fife." The most important of these books 

 is Scott-Elliott's " Flora of Dumfries " (along with Kirkcud- 

 bright and Wigtown). In it the relations between the 

 plants and local insects are also touched on. These later 

 floras do not contain descriptions of plants, but, with the 

 above exception, merely give localities for the various plants 

 mentioned. 



In another direction almost greater activity has been 

 shown, namely, in the critical examination of the species 

 and their often numerous forms, and in the comparison of 

 these with their Continental representatives. So many 

 changes have been found necessary in the treatment and 

 nomenclature of forms in the more variable genera, such 

 as Rosa, Rubus, Hieraciuni, and SalLv, that the deter- 

 mination of the older floras and lists can no longer be 

 depended on, and must be revised, if not already so treated. 

 Unfortunately, the word species has a very different value 

 in different orders and genera. Even during the less 

 critical treatment of such genera, and while species were 

 by most botanists regarded as permanent and unchanging, 

 Mr. Watson recognised and pointed out clearly the frequent 

 uncertainty of their distinctions and their inequality in 

 extent. The belief in gradual evolution has given a new 

 meaning to these characteristics, and renders the study of 

 individual and specific variability of great interest and 

 value, especially when studied in relation to the environment 



