t904- Coi^GAN — Additions to the Flora of County Dubliji. 6i 



Every one of these nine claimants for admission to the 

 Dublin flora occurs in one or more of the adjoining counties, 

 and as regards at least two of them, Cnicus prateiisis and 

 Rhynchospora alba, there are good reasons for expecting that 

 their claim will be fully established by further search in the 

 mountain districts. 



Sandycove, Co. Dublin. 



REVIEWS. 



BRITISH LIZARDS. 



The Life-History of British Lizards, and their Local Dis- 

 tribution In the British Isles. By Gerai^d R, Leighton, 

 M.D. Edinburgh : G. A. Morton, 1903. Price 5^-. net. 



We have had works on the British Reptiles as a whole, but no book 

 had ever been written on the British Lizards alone until Dr. Leighton 

 conceived the plan of the present volume. He is well-known as the 

 author of a little work on the British Serpents, published some yea r 

 ago. 



The pi esent book appeals especially to the field naturalist, to whom 

 the author gives a chapter full of good and sound advice, which greatly 

 enhances the value of the work. The advice he gives is addressed to 

 those who are about to describe an animal to their fellow-naturalists. It 

 is well put, and to the point, and we can strongly recommend the perusal 

 of the chapter to all young zoologists. Another chapter deals with the 

 anatomy of Tjzards, and then follows a description of the various kinds 

 inhabiting the British Islands. 



The reference to the Common Lizard {Lacerta vivipard) naturally 

 interests us most, as it is the only species indigenous to this country. 

 Dr. Leighton observes that it has a marked preference for mountainous 

 districts, which provides one point of contrast with the Sand Lizard. 

 In Ireland this is not at all the case, the Lizard being more common with 

 us in low-lying areas than in hilly parts. 



In the appendix Dr. Leighton correctly states (p. 194), that the Common 

 Lizard is generally distributed in Ireland. We fail to understand, there- 

 fore, why in the body of the work only Dr. Gadow's opinion should be 

 referred to, according to whom the Lizard liaj an irregular and local 

 distribution in Ireland. The illustrations, of which there many, are 

 taken from life, and are mostly excellent. About fifty pages are devoted 

 to giving a careful survey of the distribution of Lizards in the counties 

 and vice-county divisions of the British Isles. 



R. F. S. 

 A 3 



