38 THE JOURNAL OP BOTANY 



record in their proper place liis own numerous contributions to 

 the Hepaticology of North Britain, only one of which is named 

 in this book. 



The body of the work, pp. 50-330, consists of the " Distribu- 

 tion of the Species." Each has first a summary of its disti'ibution, 

 together with any particulars about the plant that are worth 

 mentioning or likely to assist the student in diagnosing it. Then 

 come the localities in the sub-counties, the names of which are 

 printed in full with the name of the first collector in each ; in 

 many cases the vertical range or ascent of the plant is also given. 

 The nomenclature used is that of the Census Catalogue of British 

 Hcpatics, except in the cases of Leptoscyphus and Calypogeia, 

 which formerly were Mylia and Kantia. 



The divisions into the sub-provinces and vice-counties of 

 Watson (without, however, the numbers of each) are followed 

 throughout, except, as the author intimates, in certain localities 

 where he has made some alterations in the boundaries. These 

 alterations, it seems, affect Watson's sub-provinces 29 and 32 ; 

 but to understand what is done here would require a better map 

 of Scotland than that in the second edition of TojMgraphical 

 Botany. Vice-counties 86, 87, 88, and 89 have been divided and 

 distributed, and their names changed. This bit of Watson's work 

 has thus been put into the melting-pot, and experience alone will 

 show whether confusion will not ensue. All these divisions of 

 provinces, &c., are artificial, but they have their useful points, 

 and have been employed now for upwards of thirty years by 

 botanists throughout the United Kingdom. 



A grateful list is included of all those persons who assisted 

 Mr. Macvicar in collecting specimens, and we are informed that 

 every plant was examined by him before being recorded. Those 

 who have experienced his scrupulous care in naming critical 

 plants will know what a guarantee this is for the reliability of 

 the records. He adds that " a few records have been taken 

 from literature, but they have been almost confined to works by 

 specialists on the subject, and each of these recoi'ds is indicated 

 by a special mark in the context, as the specimens upon which 

 they were founded have not been examined by the author as have 

 all others with the exception of five or six which are marked in 

 litt." This affords one some idea of the time which must have 

 been spent on the work. 



Admirable as it is in other respects, the book has one serious 

 defect : there is no index to the species it contains ! 



C. H. Lett. 



Die Palaohotanische Litteratur. Edited by W. J. Jongmans. 

 8vo, pp. 217. Jena : G. Fisher. 1910. Price 7 marks. 

 There are few w^orkers engaged in scientific research who are 

 not constantly handicapped by the absence of a complete biblio- 

 graphy of the subject which they are investigating. In the 

 department of palaeobotany this is especially the case, because the 



