2 3 o SCIENCE PROGRESS 



of three Asiatic species by Koiwai, one identified with Schenk's 

 species G. nicotincefolia, one with Yabe's species G. dentata, 

 and one new, though not yet named. 



The two most important contributions to the Mesozoic 

 both come from the Antipodes : 



A. B. Walkom, in publications 257 and 259 of the Queens- 

 land Geological Survey, continued and concluded his Flora 

 of the Ipswich and Walloon Series. In these parts he de- 

 scribed a large number of species, the genera being those uni- 

 versal for the Mesozoic and many of the species the same as 

 those widely prevalent in Europe. The genus Thinnfeldia 

 was treated at greater length than the others, and four species 

 were described ; a most important addition to the knowledge 

 of this puzzling but widespread and common genus is made 

 by the description of fertile specimens. Details not only of 

 the sori are visible, but the structure of the sporangium is given, 

 as in a number of them the cell-walls can be observed. It 

 appears that there is no annulus. The sporangia are in groups 

 of 3-5 in the sorus. This information is of great value ; though 

 some authors may be divided over the question whether the 

 plant is a true Thinnfeldia, as most people think, or a Dicroidium, 

 as Gothan decided. The author pointed out that the separa- 

 tion of the two artificial genera is based on no stable generic 

 character. 



In a later part of the work a new species was described as 

 Otozamites Queenslandi ; but the illustrations do not bear out 

 the generic allocation. Detailed comparisons of these plants 

 with those of the rest of the world are reserved for a further 

 publication. In the meantime, it seems obvious that the 

 Ipswich and Walloon beds are of two distinct ages. 



E. A. N. Arber in Bulletin 6 of the New Zealand Survey 

 dealt with the earlier Mesozoic floras of New Zealand in a 

 very thorough and careful manner, including in the memoir 

 not only descriptions of the plant species, but maps, a synopsis 

 of previous records, and comparisons of the floras with others. 

 The fourteen plates are very well reproduced. The greater 

 part of the plants described are of Rhsetic and Jurassic ages, 

 and the well-known, world-wide genera preponderate. 



A particularly interesting record is from the Neocomian, 

 of several dicotyledonous leaves clearly showing their venation, 

 which are described as Artocarpidium Arberi, sp. nov., by Dr. 



