June, 1920] ECOLOGY 287 



of the coastal vegetation and its relation to Bhore phenomena in general. The United King- 

 dom's coast foreshore at high-water line is approximately H000 miles long and the river front- 

 age extends for nearly 12, (KM) miles. These figures indicate something of the importance of 

 the reclamation problem where the total acreage between high- and low-water mark ap- 

 proaches 800,(X)0 acres. Plants are dealt with principally as important factors from an engi- 

 neering point of view, their mechanical value depending upon their capacity for reducing the 

 mobility of the sub-stratum together with their tendency to enhance accretion. "It is the 

 power which plants have of organizing and retaining ground which gives them value in this 

 connection, and makes it desirable to ascertain in detail the part which each species of plant 

 plays in its own particular zone. For, armed with this knowledge, it becomes possible by 

 artificially introducing a given species at the appropriate moment to hasten the passage of 

 one phase into the next, and thus promote accretion without pauses or delays. Should this 

 practice be adopted we should look forward to a time when, by vegetation methods, combined 

 with temporary engineering constructions for protection from scour and the control of cur- 

 rents, tidal lands would mature for final reclamation not only more rapidly than is at present 

 the case, but also in topographical distribution conveniently for the purpose." The role of 

 plants in stabilizing dunes and shingle beaches, and in the reclamation of salt marshes is 

 discussed in detail. The most efficient plants are listed and the features which enable them 

 to establish and maintain successful growth in their respective habitats are pointed out and 

 carefully described. The book includes one of the best discussions of the salt marsh that 

 can be found anywhere in the English language. — P. D. Strausbaugh. 



1973. Ramaley, Francis. Notes on dune vegetation at San Francisco, California. Plant 

 World 21 : 191-201. 4 fig- Aug., 1918. — Describes dunes along the coast of the Pacific immedi- 

 ately south of the Golden Gate. Large areas are without plants. The leading pioneers are 

 Franseria chamissonis and Abronia latifolia. Low shrubby plants predominate and annuals 

 and introduced plants are few. The associations of low, of exposed, and of sheltered situations 

 are described. A list is given of 48 species found on the dunes. — Forrest Shreve. 



1974. Ramaley, Francis. The role of sedges in some Colorado plant communities. 

 Amer. Jour. Bot. 6: 120-130. 2 fig. 1919. — A study of the part played by sedges in the plant 

 communities of northern Colorado. 8 genera of the Cyperaceae are considered, but the bulk 

 of the paper is devoted to Carex, 44 species being listed and classified ecologically. The plant 

 associations in which the genus is important are discussed. Most sedges are either aquatic 

 or marsh plants, or are xercphytes; and usually belong to earlier stages of succession. As 

 mesophytism is approached from either direction, sedges tend to be displaced by grasses 

 and dicotyledons. — E. W. Sinnott. 



1975. Ramaley, Francis. Xerophytic grasslands at different altitudes in Colorado. 

 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 46: 37-52. 2 fig. 1919.— The aim of the writer is to report the eco- 

 logical and floristic differences existing between the xerophytic grasslands at different alti- 

 tudes in Colorado. A synopsis is made of the associations, environmental influences are 

 recorded, a systematic list of species is given, and the floristic differences at different alti- 

 tudes are discussed. — P. A. Mum. 



1976. Rigg, George B. Early stages in bog succession. Publ. Puget Sound Biol. Sta. 

 2: 195-210. PI. 2. March, 1919. — Sphagnum grows on drained as well as undrained areas. 

 It forms no peat on well drained soil, but in moderately drained situations it forms peat 

 slowly. It may form a peat bog by beginning as hummocks on poorly drained prairie; by 

 advancing upon ordinary swamps among or upon sedges and rushes; or by filling lakes from 

 the margin. In encroaching upon shallow water it may advance alone; on deep water it may 

 advance over woody bog plants. — T. C. Frye. 



1977. Salisbury, E. J. The ecology of scrub in Hertfordshire: a study in colonization. 

 Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc. 17: 53-64. 191S. — Two types, woodland-scrub and thicket- 

 scrub, are distinguished, the former being comparatively open and embracing many species 



BOTANICAL ABSTRACTS, VOL. Ill, NO. 6 



