1904- Beresfokd. — Another Nest of Vespa rufa-aushiaca, 243 



about 2J inches in diameter, the upper consisting entirely of 

 small cells, rather more than 200 in number, and the lower of 

 about TOO larger or queen cells. 



Scanty as these details are, they are yet I think worth 

 recording, as affording a further scrap of material for the 

 study of the relationship between these two interesting 

 wasps. 



I might also mention that I have this year found five nests 

 of V. sylvestris, all being in the ground. 



Bagenalstown. 



REVIEWS. 



BABINGTON'S BRITISH BOTANY. 



Manual of British Botany. By the late Chari^es Cardai^e 

 Babington. Ninth Edition, enlarged from the author's manu- 

 . scripts and other sources by Henry and James Groves. 8vo ; 

 52 + 580 pp. Ivondon : Gurney & Jackson, 1904. 9^. 



Irish botanists will rejoice that at last the long-promised 9th edition 

 of Babington's " Manual of British Botany " has been issued under the 

 editorship of Messrs. H. and J. Groves. The style of the book remains 

 as in the last edition ; the substance embodies the notes and alterations 

 left by the author, and (in small type) additions and critical notes by the 

 editors, to bring the work up to date. But it may save misconception to 

 point out that, as regards "up-to-dateness," the indication given of the 

 distribution of species in Ireland cannot altogether be relied on. On a 

 casual inspection, we note the following as not given as occurring in 

 Ireland : — Caltha radzcans, \Lepidiuni Draba\, Stellar in luiibrosa, Ktibtis 

 lindleiamis, R. incurvatus, R. Spimgelii, Galium criuiatiim, Hypochccris glabra, 

 HieraciiDu atgentemn, H. saxifragiun, H. rivale, H. euprepes, H. Orarnwi, 

 •^Campanula rapicnacloldes, Ctisctita Trifolii., * Lycmni borbarum, *Liiiaria 

 purpurea, Etiphrasia curta, E. scottica, Lepturus /ilifor?nis, Nitella flexilis. On 

 the other hand, the following are accredited to the Irish flora : — Fumaria 

 muralis, Chrysospleniuin allernijloru/n, Silaiis pratensis, Daucus gurnmijer^ 

 Campanula latifolia, Cynoglossum juontanutn, Chenopodiuni vtilvaria, C. hybridum^ 

 Rumex palustris, /tiucics compressus, Ophioglossum hisitajiicuni. Such 

 inaccuracies but slightly impair the great value of the book, as no one 

 would go to a manual of the kind for information relative to the 

 distribution of plants in Ireland ; nevertheless, it seems a pity that 

 more care was not given to this detail. 



R. Li,, p. 



