176 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



but not through Saghalien. At the same time certain plants 

 which have their headquarters in North Japan, but are not known 

 from Saghalien, are nevertheless met with in the Kuriles. From 

 these facts the author conjectures that La Perouse Strait was 

 probably formed earlier than Tsugaru Strait. 



Messrs. Cassell send us two volumes which owe their 

 principal merit and chief attractiveness to the illustrations from 

 photographs partly in colour, " direct from Nature," by Mr. H. 

 Essenhigh Corke. Wild Floivers as they Groiu (5s. net.) has 

 already received wide appreciation : the volume before us, the 

 fifth series, contains twenty-five plates, representing the plants 

 "in their habit as they lived " with remarkable success — a 

 success, indeed, so uniform that it is impossible to single out any 

 one for special commendation. In the other volume, Trees and 

 how they Groiu (6s. net), the fifteen autochromes are equally good: 

 the 186 black-and-white figures, although less attractive, are 

 useful and instructive. The text of the volumes is by Mrs. Clarke 

 Nuttall, whom the publishers describe as " one of our foremost 

 botanical experts." We do not think the claim to this position 

 would be recognized by British botanists, but the letterpress to 

 the volume on Trees is full and carefully compiled, and the 

 "popular" portion which is a necessary feature in books of this 

 kind is better done than it is in most of them — " gaped " (p. 169) 

 should be " japed." The text to the Wild Floivers is slighter and less 

 informing: take for example this paragraph from the description 

 of the " Hedge Stachys " (why not Hedge Woundwort ?) : "There 

 are five species of Stachys growing wild in our country — -the once 

 much valued Betony ; the Woundwort, a doubtful native and 

 actually known as the Stachys Germanica ; the Marsh Stachys, 

 whose smell is bad but not so bad ; the low creeping Field 

 Stachys ; and our friend of the illustration — and all are more or 

 less coarse and hairy herbs " (p. 177). There is no need to point 

 out the many ways in which this paragraph is unsatisfactory and 

 it will be noted that Stachys alpina is altogether ignored. There are 

 many typographical slips — on p. 162 we have " Tabernamontanus " 

 (twice) and " Hirunolinaria " for Hirundinaria. 



The issue of a second edition of the Census Catalogue of 

 British He-patics (W. Ingham, 52, Haxby Eoad, York. 1913. 

 36 pp. Is. net ; Is. 6d. interleaved) affords evidence of a grow- 

 ing interest in the study of this little group of plants — a study 

 which underwent a long period of comparative neglect last century 

 before a supply of adequate books and illustrations became 

 available. The recent publication of Macvicar's Students' Hand- 

 book removes any valid excuse for further neglect. But since in 

 that work the distribution of the species is only indicated in 

 general terms, a gap remains which is usefully filled by the county 

 records supplied in the Census Catalogue. These records are 

 mainly the outcome of the activity of the Moss Exchange Club, 

 and may be taken as authenticated. Several of the counties 

 appear to be quite unworked, or at any rate will yield a larger 

 output in future editions of the Catalogue. 



