372 DIE VEGETATION DER ERDE. 



formations of Europe and neiglibouring provinces. As Professors 

 Eugler and Drude point out in their preface, we undoubtedly want 

 general works on the physiognomy of the vegetation of individual 

 areas, its composition and relationships. They also recognize the 

 difficulties in the preparation of such works. Travellers' accounts 

 are too superficial or one-sided, and systematic plant-lists too crude 

 to give a fair idea of the plant-life of a country. This can only be 

 done by long and careful work in the field, with the assistance of a 

 good herbarium. We hope the editors will secure as capable an 

 exponent of other provinces as they have in the present instance, 

 to which moreover a sad interest attaches. Moritz Willkomm died 

 in September last, while his book was going through the press. 



The whole work is to be divided into three sections. The 

 first will be devoted to general chapters of plant-geography, or 

 " climatology in its influence on plant-distrihution, history of 

 development of floras, and phylogenetic investigations on geo- 

 logical and biological bases." The second will consist of mono- 

 graphs on " plaut-formations, especially those of Europe and 

 neighbouring provinces." The third section, of which the present 

 work is the first instalment, deals with the principles of plant- 

 distribution by means of monographs illustrating " natural floral 

 provinces." 



Dr. Willkomm's book opens with an account of the history and 

 literature of the botanical investigation of the peninsula. Ancient 

 writers tell us next to nothing of the original vegetation ; Strabo 

 mentions the esparto-grass between Saguntum and Setabis, but, 

 except for a few such references to striking or useful plants, we are 

 limited to indirect evidence. From this we know that woods have 

 disappeared from mountains and covered areas which were originally 

 bare of trees. The first scientific exploration was that of Charles 

 de I'Ecluse (Clusius), who in 1560 and 1564-G5 visited Valencia, 

 Murcia, Andalusia, Estremadura, Portugal, and Castalia, and in 

 1576 published at Antwerp the result of his travels in his 

 Iiarioruin Stirjyinm per His/ianias ohservatarum Historia. In 1646 

 Jacob Barrelier travelled through several provinces, the results of 

 which were not printed till 1714, after his death. Between 1681 

 and 1689 Tournefort made three journeys, the third of which was 

 an extensive one ; the list of the numerous plants collected or 

 observed in this last journey was never published, and for a long 

 time was almost unknown. The historical account occupies twenty- 

 three pages, and brings us down to the issue of the ^Siippleiiiciitniii 

 Frodrovri Flora; Hispauiie of 1894. The remainder of the subject- 

 matter falls into two parts and an appendix. 



Part I. is entitled "Distribution of Vegetation-Formations ou 

 the Iberian Peninsula," and occupies two chapters. The first is a 

 sketch of the physical geography ; the second deals with the distri- 

 bution of individual plant-formations in zones and regions. Of the 

 148 families of seed-plants, CowposiUe, Papilionaceir, GraminecE, 

 L'riici/ercB, LabiutcR, Unibelli/cnF, L'aryophyllacecB, and Scrophiilariacece 

 come first with 766, 532, 439, 318, 288, 240, 220, and 219 species 

 respectively. The high position of Labiata is characteristic; m the 



