1896. ■ SOME NEW BOOKS. 127 



resemblance, and so forth ; but as this has made the fortune, intellec- 

 tually speaking, of the entomologist, and has raised him from former 

 obscurity, we can hardly blame the author, especially as it does not 

 interfere with the real object of the handbook. The only definite 

 fault indeed that we can find with Mr. Coupin's book is that it is 

 written in French ; as there are so many English books of a similar 

 scope we cannot predict for it a large sale in this country ; but we 

 should be quite glad to be mistaken. 



Plants of the Lowlands. 



The Flora of Dumfriesshire. By G. F. Scott-Elliot, M.A., F.L.S. With 

 map. 8vo. Pp. xl., 219. Dumfries : Maxwell, 1896. 



Finding his county to be " an extremely unnatural one," Mr. Elliot 

 has not confined his work within political boundaries, but has included 

 in the flora the whole drainage area of the Nith and Annan, with the 

 upper portion of Eskdale. The last-mentioned, between Langholm 

 and Canobie Bridge, is described as " the most beautiful wooded valley 

 that the writer has seen in any part of the world." The flora includes 

 seed-plants and vascular cryptogams, numbering (as we learn inci- 

 dentally from the paragraph on insect visitors) nearly 900 species. 

 Its chief feature is found in the notes on habitat and exposure 

 as well as lists of the insect visitors, which are appended to 

 many of the species. These notes represent a large amount of 

 valuable work, but are still, as the author admits, far from complete. 

 The book in its present state will, however, be of much help to future 

 workers, to whom we must look for a more complete elucidation of 

 the factors of environment, a systematic study of which has hitherto 

 been sadly neglected. It is only by careful study in this direction 

 that we can hope to solve the problems of plant distribution and 

 evolution. We would suggest, however, that the list of visitors would 

 be more useful if the individuals were classified under a few heads, as 

 e.g., moths, bees, flies, etc. A string of specific names conveys but 

 little information to the ordinary botanist. In the collection of facts 

 like these Mr. Elliot has received much assistance, which he duly 

 acknowledges. In the introductory chapter we find, also, a section on 

 the Hymenoptera of Mid-Solway by R. Service, and one on the 

 geology of the district by B. N. Peach and T. Home. The points 

 most open to criticism relate to general arrangement and nomen- 

 clature. Such are the insertion of a period between the name 

 of the species and its author, the occasional omission of the latter, and 

 the misuse of the capital for specific names. We find Trollms Euvopceus, 

 Platystemon Californicum, Meconopsis Cambvica but Papavcv rhceas, Aconitum 

 napellns, Cheiranthus cheiri ; and Solaniun Dulcamava but Atyopa belladonna. 

 " Escapes " might, with advantage, be in different type from indi- 

 genous species. If the author will pay attention to these and similar 

 points (popular names, for instance) in future editions, the value of 

 the work will be enhanced. A chapter might also be added, giving 

 a general classified account of the flora as a whole, showing the 

 proportion of rarer British plants, and bringing out relations which 

 must exist with other parts of the British Isles. 



Sunday-school Botany. 



How Plants Live and Work. By Eleanor Hughes-Gibb. 8vo. Pp. xii., 115, 

 with 30 figures in the text. London : Grifi&n, 1896. Price 2s. 6d. 



This Uttle book is further described on the title-page as A simple 



