29G THE JOURNAL OF BOTAXT 



The Bulletin of The New York Botanical Garden, vol. viii, 

 no. 81, issued 10 July, contains a paper by Robert S. Williams on 

 Philippine Mosses (pp. 381-378) collected by himself (1903-5) 

 on the islands of Luzon and Mindanao, which comprises 240 species 

 in lis genera. Three genera — Rhabdoioeisiella, PseudopoJilia, 

 Stereodontopsis — and twenty-seven species are described as new, 

 and ligured. Pleuropvs appressifolius, a new species, is also figured. 

 This excellent list should prove of great assistance to future students 

 of the Moss-flora of the Philippine Islands. — A. O. 



In the Annals of Botany for April (issued in July) Dr. J. C. 

 Willis, in a paper entitled "The Relative Age of Endemic Species and 

 other Controversial Points," replies to Mr. Ridley's criticisms on his 

 previous work, to which we referred on p. 119. Dr. Willis adduces 

 evidence " to show that the eodemic species are on the whole the 

 youngest, not the oldest, in a country .... Mr. Ridley's objections 

 to the Mutation theory are then considered, and it is shown that the 

 supporters of Natural Selection do not clearly distinguish between 

 poiit hoc and propter hoc. Natural Selection cannot explain the origin 

 of the peculiarities which distinguish plants, but can only ]n'eserve or 

 destroy them when once formed. The reply of the Natural Selectionist 

 to queries invokes incomprehensibility, as did formerly that of the 

 Special Creationist." Dr. Willis's paper is followed by one by Mr. Ed- 

 mund W. Sinnott of the Connecticut Agricultural College on "The 

 * Age and Area ' Hypothesis and the Problem of Endcmism." " Dr. 

 Willis's 'age and area ' hypothesis assmnes that the area occupied by a 

 species depends primarily upon its age (the older the species, the wider 

 its rang?) ; and that 'dying out ' of species occurs very rarely " : against 

 this Mr. Sinnott raises various objections. In the same number of 

 the An'ials is a long and interesting biography, with bibliograpliy, 

 of the late H. H. W. Pearson, from the pen of Prof. Seward. 



Gardening books do not strictly come within our purview, but a 

 word may be said about Mrs. Stebbing's little volume entitled The 

 Flower Garden and How to Work in it (Jack, Is. (jd.) which is 

 not only a useful but a very cheap and pretty little book. The direc- 

 tions under the various months, beginning with May, are simple-and 

 })ractical, and the selection of flowers is evidently the result of experi- 

 ence and knowledge. Unfortunately the latter does not extend to 

 their names, which, as is frequently the case in flower-books, are often 

 misspelt : thus we have in one sentence " the St. Daboc's Heath, 

 sometimes classed as Menzesia, sometimes as Duhoecia " (p. 78). 

 The ])rinter cannot be responsible for the mistakes, as the same occur 

 throughout. The index also needs revision: sometimes the Latin 

 name is indexed with cross-reference to the English, sometimes the 

 <)])p()site course is adopted, and the names are entered under their 

 adjectival prefix: thus we have "vSj)otted Lungwort (P//Z;«c»«^/r/«) " — 

 in this instance misleading, as the best species, P. aznrea, referred to 

 in our last issue (p. 287) has unspotted leaves. The book, which is 

 copiously illustrated from ]ihotograi)hs and by pretty little figures in 

 tlie text, is so attractive that a reprint is certain to be called for soon, 

 and it would be worth while to revise it in the directions indicated. 



