NOTES AND COMMENT 



An important contribution has been made to our knowledge of the 

 botany of the antarctic islands by T. F. Cheeseman, of the Auckland 

 Museum, who has worked up the plants collected by Sir Douglas 

 Mawson's expedition in Macquarie Island. This small island is situ- 

 ated 600 miles south-west of New Zealand and is widely remote from 

 the nearest land in the same latitude. The climate is moist but the 

 temperature extremely equable, having an annual mean daily range 

 of only 5.6 F. The flora consists of only 34 species, of which 3 are 

 endemic grasses and 27 others plants that are common to the New 

 Zealand Subantarctic Islands. Fifteen of the species are circumpolar 

 in distribution and are among the commonest components of the vege- 

 tation in this island, in South Georgia, 5800 miles to the east, and in 

 Kerguelen, 3250 miles to the west. The Antarctic continent has at 

 present only two species of flowering plants, so far as known, but such 

 evidence as this points to its having formerly been a highway of 

 dispersal. 



Several papers have been written by Mr. Wilson Popenoe describing 

 the achievements of a year which he recently spent in Guatemala, 

 exploring all parts of that country in quest of varieties of avocado suit- 

 able for introduction in the United States. This nutritious fruit is one 

 of the chief articles of diet among the Guatemalan Indians, and the 

 avocado tree is found at all elevations from sea level to 8500 ft. The 

 three races and numerous varieties found at different altitudes were 

 carefully studied by Mr. Popenoe, and bud-wood of the most promis- 

 ing ones was successfully shipped to Washington. Everyone who has 

 tasted this delicious fruit will hope that its successful cultivation in this 

 country will be greatly aided by this important piece of horticultural 

 exploration. The cultivation of avocadoes is now being carried on in 

 Florida and California, but the industry is still in such a stage as to 

 justify the high prices that are asked for the home grown fruit. 



The dry grasslands of mixed composition, which occur at all alti- 

 tudes in the Rocky Mountains from the edge of the plains to 11,000 ft., 

 have been investigated by Dr. Francis Ramaley (Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, 



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