42 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



sphere ; several are varieties of lichens belonging to the Cape 

 of Good Hope ; some are strictly antarctic ; and not a few — 

 indeed, more than half — are purely local. Nylander and 

 Croinbie say that many of the lichens of Kerguelen Island are 

 peculiar to it ; and even some which are at first sight identical 

 with European and American species prove, on analysis of their 

 structure, to be quite distinct. Some — e.g., Placodium gelidum, L. 

 — have evidently come from the Northern Hemispliere by means 

 of tiieir finding intervening lodgment on alpine heights. But 

 many seem to come by means of their spores, borne on the 

 wings of the westerly winds wiiicli prevail in the Southern Ocean 

 round " the roaring forties." 



Of the lichens enumerated by Crombie I have been able, with 

 some degree of certainty, to identify 17 species and 4 varieties in 

 Mr. Hall's collection ; and I find among his specimens 5 species 

 and I variety which are not in Crombie's list, one being 

 probably new to science. 



I note that Mr. Hall's specimens, so far as he has noted the 

 special locality where they were found, are from Royal Sound 

 alone. The Challenger expedition had three stations on the 

 island — Royal Sound, Observatory Bay, and Swain's Bay. Mr. 

 Hall has secured the majority of those which are marked in Mr. 

 Crombie's list as from Royal Sound or from all the stations. 



A few of the lichens which in some degree relieve the desola- 

 tion of the island are really beautiful and fairly abundant. One 

 of these, Usnea Taylori, Hook, fil., is known only to the Southern 

 Hemisphere, and, even in it, to antarctic or sub-antarctic regions 

 alone. I have it from Stewart Island, N.Z. Nylander calls it 

 the most notable plant in all that most miserable island, Ker- 

 guelen. The most of the lichens of the island, however, are 

 unfrequent and of insignificant appearance. They are nearly 

 all of the crustaceous order, Kryoblasta. 



As I have been for some years a diligent collector of lichens, 

 and from advancing age must give place to younger and more 

 adventurous men, I hope the members of the Club will pardon me 

 if I take this opportunity to say that, when lichens are collected, 

 it is of importance that the specimens be, if possible, in fruit. 

 The crustaceous kinds, especially, are identified chiefly by the 

 apothecia. And it is also of importance that the thallus be as 

 complete as possible, especially at the circumference : the form 

 of the thallus being one of the distinctive marks, not only of the 

 tribes, but even of the orders of lichens. Those which grow upon 

 rocks should be chipped off in such a manner as to preserve in 

 some degree the contour of the plant. 



It has been a pleasure to examine Mr. Hall's collection, the 

 field being to me a new one, and some of the forms being interest- 

 ing from their strangeness. 



