THE FLORA OF JAPAN. 
Ir is interesting to notice that, notwithstanding the com- 
parative proximity of Japan to western North America, 
fewer of its species are represented there than in far distant 
Europe. Also, — showing that this difference is not owing 
to the separation by an ocean, — that far more Japanese 
plants are represented in eastern North America than in 
either. It is, indeed, possible that my much better knowledge 
of American botany than of European may have somewhat 
exaggerated this result in favor of Atlantic North America 
as against Europe, but it could not as against western North 
America. 
If we regard the identical species only, in the several floras, 
the preponderance is equally against western as compared with 
eastern North America, but is more in favor of Europe. For 
the number of species in the Japanese column? which like- 
wise occur in western North America is about 120; in eastern 
North America, 184; in Europe, 157. 
Of the 580 Japanese entries, there are which have corre- 
sponding 
European representatives, a little above 0.48 per cent. ; of 
identical species, 0.27. 
Western North American representatives, about 0.37 per 
cent. ; of identical species, 0.20. 
1 Extract from the concluding part of a “ Memoir on the Botany of 
Japan, in its relations to that of North America, and of other parts of 
the Northern Temperate Zone.” (Memoirs of the American Academy 
of Arts and Science, new series, vi. 1859.) 
It is this paper which fixed the attention of the scientific world upon 
Professor Gray and established his reputation as a philosophical natu- 
ralist. —C. S. S. 
2 The column in a tabular view of the distribution of Japanese plants 
and their nearest allies in the northern temperate zone. 
