BOOK NOTICES 191 



ledged by the editor, Mr. F. J. Hanbury. An attempt has been 

 made to sift the British flora, distinguishing those that are native 

 ahens well established, and such as are " casual or only planted," 

 but there is no mention of many other casuals that have been put 

 on record, but are of rare occurrence. All such attempts are certain 

 to show many cases of different conclusions as to the grades in which 

 species should be ranked from this standpoint, every list giving the 

 benefit of the doubt to many old weeds of cultivation, while exclud- 

 ing others that might be almost equally correctly included. In re- 

 spect of appearance the highly glazed paper and lighter type render 

 the tenth edition much less pleasant to the eye than the preceding 

 editions. 



Mr. Druce's " List " is framed on more comprehensive lines 

 than the " London Catalogue," as it aims at including every species, 

 native or alien, ranging from the most absolute native to the mere 

 " ballast waif," that has been recorded from any part of the area 

 defined on the title-page. It thus includes almost 3000 numbers, 

 besides a very large number of varieties, " made as catholic as 

 possible." An abstract gives the following analysis of the numbered 

 forms: — Native species, 1390; native subspecies (numbered asspecies), 

 401; species somewhat doubtfully native, 89; aliens now well 

 established, 144 ; aliens more or less fugitive, 940. A short appendix 

 adds several, mostly to the last division. While many botanists 

 object to the inclusion of fugitives, aliens, or casuals, their exclusion 

 is carried out in a more or less arbitrary way ; and the more logical 

 method appears to be the admission of all species found growing as 

 if wild, but noting, as this " List" does, which are aliens. A com- 

 parison of this "List" with the "London Catalogue" shows wide 

 divergences in several places, apart from the large number of aliens 

 in it and not in the " Catalogue." One of the most important of 

 these divergences is that the " nomina conservanda " of the Vienna 

 Congress of 1905 "are deliberately ignored when other generic 

 names which appear to be properly diagnosed have priority." But 

 leaving out of account questions of nomenclature and the knotty 

 questions that are involved in them, this " List" will be found very 

 useful by students of local floras who desire a guide to the names 

 and places of the numerous aliens often encountered, especially near 

 seaports or railways, and of which no account is given by British 

 floras. 



Both "List" and "Catalogue" will be found very useful by 

 botanists interested in the British flora, and both bring into very 

 clear view the urgent need there is for a new work to take the place 

 so long and usefully filled by Hooker's " Student's Flora," and 

 Babington's " Manual." 



A Monograph of the British Annelids. Vol. II. Part I. 

 — Polychseta : Nephthydidae to Syllidae. Eight coloured and Four- 



