68 



SCIENCE PROGRESS 



A.B.C 



D.E 



A.B.C.D.E 



In conclusion, we wish to appeal to phenologists to take 

 the necessary steps to utilise — while it is still obtainable — • 

 the abundant mass of data existing in the diaries of members 

 of the Wild Flower Society. 



For any given phenological district the material may be 



treated as we have treated our material ; and obviously the 



««*o«^.a,ol flowers chosen might and would 



§2222*ii include many excluded by us 



and vice versa ; for instance, 

 in the North of England and 

 Scotland, where hardly any 

 plants can be found in flower 

 on March i, nearly all the 

 early flowers that we have 

 been unable to use (except for 

 the purposes of Chart I) would 

 fall into the A or B seasonal 

 groups. Moreover, notoriously 

 the majority of species are 

 absent from some or most 

 localities ; and there is there- 

 fore double reason for basing 

 the phenological curves of 

 different districts on their own 

 specially characteristic com- 

 mon species.^ 



Secondly, however, if a 

 sufficiently large proportion of 

 species common to each of a 

 number of districts could be 

 agreed upon, it would be 

 possible to construct curves 

 showing the seasonal differ- 

 ences relatively to variation in 

 latitude and isotherms, etc. 

 This, of course, is what the 

 Meteorological Society aims at by the observation of a dozen 

 very common species ; but we suggest that the additional 

 Wild Flower Society material is well worth the attention of 

 the Society, and that the long series of records of flowers 

 found on March i in all parts of England should be of especial 

 value in this connection. 



We quite realise that the great majority of the members 

 of the Wild Flower Society would be utterly disinclined to 

 utilise their data as we have utilised ours ; and that, indeed, 



1 Incidentally in many districts the diaries of several members could be 

 " pooled " as an extra safeguard. 



F.G.H 



Chart 3. 



