LTKN^EATf SOCIETY OF LONPOX. 1 3 



masses for the upland species, for the bai-riers to distribution are 

 diverse in the two cases. 



The features of endemism are also obscured by superficial or 

 bad identification, for not only is the presence of an endemic form 

 hidden, but the more restricted distribution of the commoner 

 species is also obscured, an equally troublesome matter since the 

 limits of distribution are the important point to determine, no 

 matter whether the limits are narrow or wide. When one finds 

 that a writer has only casually determined many plants recorded, 

 he is forced to distrust all records which are not verified by actual 

 specimens of the form careFully recorded from all sides of the 

 locality in question. As this is often difficult to do in a single 

 herbarium, the element of doubt becomes painfully larfi;e in some 

 cases. Adamovic's determinations are often bad : Velenovsk5''s 

 worlv is more careful but still insufficiently critical. One has to 

 revise each of his statements before accepting it, a matter difficult 

 to do with the insufficient material in this country. Boissier is 

 out of date: great munbers of new species have since been 

 described from the Balkans, n)aking a large mass of undigested 

 and often untraceable pamphlet material. It is therefore unsafe 

 to frame theories of Balkan endemism at present, but some 

 hypotheses were offered for consideration. 

 " Of the 4000 or so sheets of the collection less than a quarter 

 has been determined in more than a year : but numerous errors 

 and confusions have been cleared up, as the material available is 

 from a relatively suuill area and sufficient in most cases for serious 

 study. It is a great pity that no serious collection was made 

 between Vodena and Ostrovo, the type locality for many of 

 ' Grisebach's species. 



A series of the specimens of interest was exhibited, inrluding 

 several forms believed to be new to science. 



It was pointed out that Silene juvenalis {=S'. subconica) is a com- 

 mon plant in Macedonia, and that its occurrence on the reopened 

 silver mines at Laurion, in Greece, is not surprising, lleldreich's 

 sug"-estion that it had sprung up from seed which had been 

 doT-mant 1500-2000 years may be dismissed. Glancium Ser2>ieri, 

 Heldr., of which the same was postulated, is not most nearly 

 related'to an Asia jNIinor or Persian form, but is either a variety 

 of G. flavum as Haliiesy places it, or a local or endemic form. It 

 deserves more critical study. 



Dr. Eendle considered this collection as the best of all service 

 collections, resulting in so large an accession of specimens for the 

 British Museum. Ir was of great importance as allowing a fairly 

 intensive study of a definite area. 



Mr. C. C. Lacaita referred to the splendid preparation of the 

 specimens, so important for study in the herbarium. He also 

 mentioned that round Athens Anemone fidgens was almndant ; 

 farther north various colours were prevalent, and that seeds of 

 tlie latter had in his own garden yielded during many years the 



