NOTICES OF BOOKS. 59 



that these plants cannot come under P. j)ectinatus, as at present 

 restricted by Prof. Babington. Occasionally, but not constantly, 

 all these fiahellatus forms produce broad, flat leaves at all seasons of 

 the year in our fenlaud waters ; I think such leaves will only be 

 found constantly in situations where the plant is unable to perfect 

 its fruit. In cultivation, some shoots from the same rootstock 

 produce them, others do not, and they vary in abundance from 

 season to season. Hence we ought not to attach too much 

 importance to their presence in distinguishing hetween fahellatiis 

 and i^ectinatus, bat look chiefly to the differences between the fruit, 

 on which Prof. Babington founded his species." — Alfred Fryer. 



Festuca ovina L., var. tenuifolia Syme (1873) = var. cajnUata 

 Hack. (Mon. Fest, 1882). Hedge Court, Surrey, 1887. Prof. 

 Hackel confirms the name as well as the above synonym. The 

 more recent varietal name has been adopted in Lond. Cat. ed. 8, 

 but according to Hackel's own showing [I. c, p. 85), both of these 

 names must give way to F. ovina, y&v paliidosa Gaud., Fl. Helv. i. 

 (;i828).— W. H. Beeby. 



Bromus erectus Huds., villosus Bab. Chesterton, Warwickshire, 

 July, 1887. — H. Bromwich. " The spikelets being very shortly 

 hairy, I doubt whether this be the form called so by Babington. 

 Surely it is not B. erectus, v. villosus Doell, Flora d. Grossherz., 

 Baden (which perhaps precedes Babington). If you choose to give 

 a proper name to it, I should call it B. erectus, v. subvillosus Eegel 

 et Tilling, Fl. Ajan, p. 126 (1858)."— E. Hackel. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Monographische Ubersicht ilher die Arten der Gattung Primula. Von 

 Dr. Ferdinand Pax. Leipzig, Engelmann. 8vo, pp. 118. 



The literature of the genus Primula is so widely scattered as to 

 be accessible to those only having such facilities as are offered by 

 one of our representative botanical libraries. Owing partly to this, 

 the general nomenclature of the genus has long been in a very 

 unsatisfactory condition. The impetus given to this cultivation by 

 the late conference held at South Kensington, brought into promi- 

 nence the demand for a complete monograph, and this has been 

 supplied by Dr. Ferdinand Pax, of Breslau, who has given many 

 years' study to the subject. He has examined the chief herbaria in 

 Europe ; and, although his conclusions may not altogether meet 

 with the views of botanists on this side of the Channel, they merit 

 the careful attention of all workers at the genus. 



The book begins with a history of the genus from the time of 

 Dodonaeus and Clusius, 1583, down to the present, with full 

 references to every known paper on Primulas between these dates, 

 including structure, morphology, &c. In addition to the history of 

 the genus, chapters are devoted to the geographical distribution of 

 Primula, but unfortunately for the general English reader, this 

 portion is in Dr. Pax's mother-tongue, and a closed book to the 



