72 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



by the birds of the neighbourhood. Observations and experiments 

 with the ants Donisthorpea nigra and Myrviica Icevinodis, prove 

 that they carry off whole masses, fragments, and single seeds, and 

 take them into the nest. On the other hand, their behaviour does 

 not favour the suggestion that the larviil "mimicry " is operative, 

 as far as they are concerned. The claim to myrmecochory is not 

 a valid one. As far as the ants are concerned, neither the larval 

 resemblance nor the massing brings to the species any advantage 

 which it would not possess if the seeds were shed singly, as is 

 usually, if not universally, the case with those that are adapted to 

 these insects. The larval resemblance, which cannot be denied, 

 suggests an adaptation to some still unrecognised agent or agents, 

 and observations at the distributional headquarters of the species 

 are much to be desired, in order to clear up the mystery of the 

 mass. 



The contents of the last part (vol. vi, part 2, not dated) of the 

 Transactions of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science are 

 almost entirely botanical. Mr. W. Barclay, the President, con- 

 tributes critical notes on Bosa mollis, B. invohUa, B. glauca, and 

 B. coriifolia. Mr. Henry Coates has an interesting account, with 

 numerous illustrations from photographs, on " The Evolution of 

 Plant Life on a Haughland " : "a haughland may be defined as a 

 flat stretch of land, occupying the floor of a valley, bordering the 

 stream which flows down that valley, and rising in a succession 

 of steps or terraces as we recede from the stream towards the 

 slopes which form the true sides of the valley." Mr. Frank Scott 

 writes on " The Natural Eegeneration of Woods." 



The latest part of the Flora Batava (M. Nijhoff, 's Gravenhage) 

 contains twenty excellent plates in colour, with accompanying 

 letterpress in Dutch and French, the diagnoses being in Latin. 

 The flowering plants figured, which include several introductions, 

 are Buhus cUversifolius, Carex axillaris, Viola calcarata, Meli- 

 lotus macrocarpa, Bumex maximus, B. aquaticus, Briza minor, 

 Beseda alba (which we hardly regard as of anything but casual 

 occurrence "dans I'Angleterre meridionale ") Bromus arvensis 

 var. vehitinus, Iva xanthitfolia, Crepis pulchra; the remainder are 

 Azolla filiculoicles, Coprinus lagopus, Cordyceps ophioglossoides, 

 Stereum hirsutum, Collybia tuherosa, Tricholojna ptUid^im, Beti- 

 cularia Lycoperdon, Geaster Bryantii, and Ceriomyces albus. 



To Subscribers. 



An exceptional opportunity arises for those who may wish to 

 extend their series of the Journal of Botany. There is a con- 

 siderable stock of back volumes, bound and unbound, most of 

 which can be supplied (for a short period only) at considerably 

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 series ; but lists of desiderata will be carefully considered if in- 

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