Books and Current Literature. 227 



than elsewhere. The level depressions are also heavily covered 

 with grasses, sedges, and rushes. A number of interesting ferns, 

 mosses and lichens were found in these situations and in the 

 so-called "pumice fields." Among the debris of the slides in 

 the pumice fields were found Polytrichtim pilijcrum and P. 

 gracile, and in the midst of the larger boulders of the lateral 

 moraine of the Nisqually glacier Polytrichadelphus was discov- 

 ered, a rare alpine form. The sharp angles and edges of boulders 

 in ojieii situations are colonized bv Buellia geoqraphica, and with 

 it &rimmia M iihlenbeckii is extremely common. \\ e also found 

 Rhacomiirium Macounii on wet ledges of rock about the boulder 

 fields, and Rhacomiirium has also been collected in this vicinity. 

 Immature specimens of Gyrophora were collected at Gibraltar 

 Rock, altitude 12,000 feet, and Placodium eleqans at Camp Muir 

 at 10,000 feet. Indeed, this is practically a \ iigin field for the 

 brvologist, and among the thirty-five species which I collected 

 fNere such rare forms as f:iistichia Norvegica and Pseudoleska 

 radicans, and the Arctic forms Andreaea alpestris, Grimmia 

 ovata, and G. manniae. Some fifteen species of liverworts were 

 collected also, including Jungermannia Allenii, Nardia Brideleri, 

 Hygrohiella laxijolia, Marsupella Sullivantii, and Targionia 

 hypophylla. Among the ferns some seven forms were collected, 

 including, in addition to those already mentioned, Polystichum, 

 tonchitis and Poly podium hesperinum. Such a rich and diver- 

 sified field well deserves more thorough exploration. 

 Paciic Beach, Washington. 



BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE. 



(lEOGUAPiiicAL Studies in Palestine. — Students of 

 plant geography are greatly indebted to Professor Hunt- 

 ington, of Yale University, for his extended studies of des- 

 ert conditions in connection with climatic changes. In the 

 course of these changes, whether in historic or prehistoric 

 times, there can be no doubt that the plant life of various 

 arid and semi-arid regions of the earth's surface has under- 

 gone profound modifications, but our know ledge has hither- 



