RECENT ADVANCES IN SCIENCE 555 



exists between all the above and the next individual memoirs 

 to be considered. The Old Red Sandstone cherts of Scotland 

 are still yielding beautiful material, and two very important 

 memoirs by Drs. Kidston and Lang (Parts II and III, Trans. 

 Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. Ixii, 1920, pp. 603-627, pis. i-x, and pp. 

 643-80, pis. i-xvii) dealt with Rhynia major, Hornea Lignieri, 

 and Asteroxylon Mackiei. These papers established the exist- 

 ence of four archaic types of early vascular Cryptogams, 

 and demonstrated their internal structure clearly. Like all 

 Kidston 's palaeobotanical work, they were illustrated by magni- 

 ficent microphotographs. Rhynia and Hornea were extra- 

 ordinarily primitive, leafless but spore-bearing land plants ; 

 Asteroxylon, somewhat more distinctly Pteridophytic in char- 

 acter, had simple leaves on its aerial stems. Their detailed 

 studies of these plants led the authors to consider that one may 

 possibly see " the convergence of Pteridophyta and Bryophyta 

 backwards to an Algal stock." These papers read in conjunction 

 with Halle's " Lower Devonian Plants " {K. Svensk. vetensk. (] 

 Handl., vol. Ivii) places current knowledge of the Devonian flora 

 on a totally different footing from that available a decade ago. 



The year 1920 was notable, also, in seeing a new (the 3rd) 

 edition of Scott's famous " Studies in Fossil Botany," the text- 

 book which is used by all students of the science. Vol. I only 

 has yet appeared, and is greatly enlarged. It will be reviewed 

 in a separate article. 



In Stratigraphic Paleobotany, the Tertiary was repre- 

 sented by a short paper on a new palm and other plants from 

 Japan by Kryshtofovich, who is still a refugee in Tokio. 

 Kryshtofovich pointed out the lack of knowledge about the 

 true sequence of the various Tertiary plant-beds in the country, 

 and the sources of error in comparing them with distant 

 European and other floras, partly owing to the fact that the 

 changes of climate appear to have differed from, and not tallied 

 with, those in better-known regions. After studying a new 

 palm and various Dicotyledons, the conclusion was drawn that 

 the Sendai palm can be held to be Miocene or older. Florin 

 also dealt with Japanese Tertiary in his paper on the fossil 

 species of the genus Salvinia {Bull. Geol. Inst. Upsala, vol. xvi, 

 pp. 243-60, pi. xi, 191 9). He described S. formosa Heer 

 from Japan, with good photographic illustrations, and gave a 

 critical summary of other species included in the genus. The 

 same author also described some Chinese Tertiary plants 

 {Svensk. Bot. Tidskrift, vol. xiv, pp. 239-43), including Pinus 

 and three Dicotyledons. From Peru a Miocene flora represented 

 by a considerable variety of leaf impressions was described by 

 Berry {Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. Iv, pp. 279-94, pis. xiv- 

 xvii, 1 91 9). 



