186 THE MOSS FLORA OF FIFE AND KINROSS. 



and which had been gathered years ago by Mr. E. G. Varenne at 



Aldham, in Essex, was also C. taravacifoUa, one or two of the 

 heads being well developed enough to make this quite certain. 

 Thus 0. taraxacifolia proves to be a North Essex plant ; it is 

 already recorded by Mr. Varenne for South Essex ; and the record 

 of C. biennis for N. Essex is not affected, as it rests on other 

 authority. I have also gathered C. biennis in E. Norfolk, in the 

 parish of Thorpe, near Norwich, and I believe this is a record 

 which has not yet been published for the east division of the 

 county. In the same parish, by the river-side, grow several bushes 

 of Salix undulata Ehrh., to which Mr. James Groves first called my 

 attention in August, 1884. I have since gathered fruit on two or 

 three occasions, aad proved Mr. Groves' surmise to be right. 

 Sparganiutn minimum Fr. appears to have been gathered fifty years 

 ago in Wretton Fen, near Stoke Ferry ; this is in Norfolk West ; 

 the specimen is in the Salmon Herbarium at Norwich, collected by 

 Mr. Salmon himself. — E. F. Linton. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



The Moss Flora of Fife and Kinross. By Charles Howie. Cupar, 

 1889. 8vo. 5s. 



This little book consists of some 116 pages of large type, 

 wherein 295 species — about one half of the whole British Moss- 

 flora — are enumerated as occurring in the two counties of Fife and 

 Kinross, some of the rarer species being found at Tents Moors. 

 For purposes of field-work the book will doubtless prove very useful 

 from its conveniently small size, its simple descriptions, and indi- 

 cations as to where the plants may be found. But whatever its 

 good points may be, we regret to say that they are outweighed by 

 the innumerable misprints. The production of County Floras is a 

 thing that deserves to be encouraged by all means : but such 

 careless, hasty work as this cannot be allowed to pass without 

 protest. We cannot believe that the proof-sheets have ever been 

 revised. Few, if any pages, are entirely free from errors ; in fact, 

 an average of three or four may be expected. But two prominent 

 pages far exceed this average : — (1) In the '* Contents of the Genera," 

 of which there are 87, no less than 12 are mis-spelt {e.g., under the 

 letter C we find "Campothecium," **Catiscopiura," "Climaceum," 

 "Cynodotium," and "Cryphae"); (2) in the explanation of the 

 '•abbreviations" we are told that '*Bla." stands for "Bland," 

 "Dill." for "Dillenens," "Horn." for "Hornsch" (who occurs 

 again below as "Hornschach"), "Lim." for "Limberg," "Linn." 

 for "Linneas," "P. & B." for "Paliot de Beauvois" (while in line 1 

 "Beau." stands for "Beauvois," and on p. 61 we find "P. Bean"), 

 *'Sch." for " Schwaregricher " (who on p. 45 figures as " Schwae- 

 grechin"), " Schl." for "Schleich," "Wach." for " Wachlenberg," 

 •' W." for " Web." A. G. 



