..8^. NOTES AND COMMENTS. 407 



Part I. deals with the Miliolinina and the Pcncvoplidina, and was 

 issued in August, 1891; the second part, describing the x\renaceous 

 forms, was pubHshed in June; further continuations are promised. 

 Mr. Chapman has treated the subject in a most exhaustive manner ; 

 he has confined his attention mainly to the Folkestone sections, and 

 has worked out large samples of the clay from every zone in the Gault at 

 that place. In his papers, therefore, we get not merely a list of the 

 species found in the Gault, compiled from lumps of clay collected at 

 random, but a definite and exact report on the forms found at every 

 horizon, with their distribution above or below. Thus, in dealing with 

 Miliolina venusta (Karr.), we read : " This Foraminifera makes its 

 appearance in the Gault in zone x., where it is very common ; also in 

 zone xi., 55 ft. from the top, very common; 50 ft., very common; 

 45 ft., frequent ; 40 ft., frequent; 35 ft., frequent; 30 ft., frequent; 

 25 ft., very common; 20 ft., common; 12 ft., common; 6 ft., very 

 rare." It is interesting to note the comparative rarity of some genera ; 

 thus, out of the many thousand forms examined, Mr. Chapman has 

 only found one specimen of Biloculina, and one of Spiroloculina, and 

 only one of the deep water form Hormosina. Others occur in only 

 one of the eleven recognised zones, e.g., Haplostiche, in zone xi., at one 

 horizon only (20 ft. from the top). It is likely, therefore, when we 

 possess the whole of Mr. Chapman's paper, we may be able to form 

 a much better opinion of the formation of the Gault than we now can, 

 and all students of the Foraminifera will await the completion of this 

 careful monograph with interest. The Foraminifera of the Lias are 

 also receiving attention at the hands of Messrs. W. D. Crick and 

 C. Davies Sherborn, in the Journal of the Northamptonshire Natural 

 History Society. 



The Identification of Trees in Winter. 



The Botanical Gazette for June contains an article by Aug. F. 

 Foerste on the identification of trees in winter, when the flowers and 

 leaves, on which a diagnosis usually depends, are absent. It is 

 important to use those parts " which are certain to be present both in 

 the young growth and in the fully matured plant, and which, during 

 the various stages of development, . . . show essentially the 

 same characteristics." The only part which approximately fulfils 

 these conditions "is the crop of little twigs addea each year to the 

 tips or the sides of the branches, with the leaf-scars from the last 

 season's leaves, and the subtended winter buds." If the length of the 

 twig, which varies considerably, be left out of consideration, and only 

 the larger leaf-scars and scaly buds be made use of, the result is a 

 very striking constancy in the colour and markings of the bark, the 

 character of the pith, the form and structure of the leaf-scars, the 

 figures presented by the foliar bundles, and the form and structure of 

 the scaly buds. This constancy of characteristics in individual 



