i8 93 . NOTES AND COMMENTS. 9 



were collected, such as Centauvca scabiosa, Erythma centaur ca, Jasionc 

 Montana and others. 



One effect of the drought was the shortening of the stems of 

 many plants, thus the Marsh Thistles were flowering plentifully with 

 stems less than one inch long. A small Pond-weed (Potamogeton 

 polygonifolius) had flowered abundantly with stems one to two inches 

 long on nearly dry mud, while the same species, abundant also 

 in the streams, showed no signs of flowering ; the warmth of the 

 water causing, on the other hand, a luxuriant growth of stem and 

 leaves. This was also generally found to be the case with water- 

 plants, which have not flowered much earlier than in some other 

 seasons. It is noticeable that in no case was there indication of 

 blossom on the Sundews or Hypericum elodes, though all three plants 

 were observed in every state of moisture from saturation to 

 desiccation. 



Dr. Forsyth Major on Squirrels. 



In criticising a certain book in a previous number of this Journal, 

 we had reason to call attention to the circumstance that, in our 

 opinion, the author had selected too comprehensive a title. We have 

 now to mention a case where an author has done himself injustice 

 by choosing a heading to his paper which errs in the opposite 

 direction. We refer to a paper just published in the Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Society (1893, PP- J 79' 2l 5) ^y the well-known palaeontologist, 

 Dr. Forsyth Major, under the designation " On some Miocene 

 Squirrels, with Remarks on the Dentition and Classification of the 

 Sciurinae." Any person reading the title would, we submit, imagine 

 that the fossil squirrels were the important part of the paper ; 

 whereas, as a matter of fact, they form but an insignificant portion 

 of its contents. The paper is, indeed, not only a re-classification of 

 the squirrels, but also comprises a most important discussion on the 

 question of trituberculism and the origin of the various types of 

 mammalian dentition ; the title giving not the slightest inkling of the 

 latter portion of its contents. Although, at present, we have been 

 able to give it only a hurried perusal, while we are by no means sure 

 that we agree with many of its conclusions, the paper appears to us 

 one of the most important that have been published for some years. 



In regard to classification, Dr. Major, following the suggestions 

 of some previous writers, utterly scouts the division of the squirrel- 

 family into the Sciurinae (true squirrels and flying squirrels) and 

 Arctomyinae (susliks and marmots) ; and divides it into the Sciurinae 

 Pteromyinae, and Nannosciurinae. The former embraces the grooved- 

 toothed squirrels (Rhithrosciurus), the spiny squirrels (Xerus), the true 

 squirrels (Sciums)— the latter genus including the chipmunks (Tamias) 

 — and the susliks and marmots. The second sub-family is repre- 

 sented by the three genera of flying squirrels ; while the third 

 includes the pigmy squirrels (Nannosciurus), which have been generally 



