48 NOTES AND COMMENT 



can never forget the moors, heaths, and mountains about Clifden with 

 their interesting American and Mediterranean floristic elements, Bally- 

 vaghn with its peculiar limestone pavements, or Killarney with its 

 botanical treasures set in the loveliest surroundings. The forests of Kil- 

 larney have an almost tropical luxuriance, and the groves of Arbutus 

 recall the counties far to the south. After a delightful afternoon in a 

 private garden at Queenstown Junction, the party set sail for Plymouth. 

 Two days were devoted to the heaths of southwestern England. The 

 excursion proper was brought to a close by a dinner at Truro, given by 

 the Royal Society of Cornwall. 



The members of the excursion were guests of the British Association 

 at the annual meeting in Portsmouth, and our final week, spent in com- 

 pany with the British botanists en masse, was a fitting climax to the 

 month's tour of the islands. The chief features of the week included 

 excursions to the yew woods, salt marshes, and heaths about Ports- 

 mouth; a symposium on the causes of the present distribution of the 

 British flora; papers on various ecological and phytogeographical sub- 

 jects and a botanical dinner. 



As one of the foreign guests of the British botanists, I am sure that 

 I express the feeling of all when I testify to a growing sense of heartfelt 

 appreciation of the sumptuous treatment accorded us at every turn. 

 It was an experience that will grow more fruitful with the years. The 

 vegetation of the British Isles was even more interesting than we had 

 thought would be the case, but the great result of the excursion was 

 coming into close contact and understanding with each other. It is 

 safe to say that the phytogeographers who met in England in 1911 now 

 know one another, and will be able henceforth to understand and appre- 

 ciate far better the writings from one another's pens. It was the uni- 

 versal testimony that these international excursions must thenceforth 

 be a feature of phytogeography.- — Henry C. Cowles. 



