410 
of N.W. Yunnan; Picea brachytyla Pritzel (t. 8969), also from 
Western China; Clethra Delavayi Franch. (t. 8970), a very 
beautiful Chinese shrub or small tree with a white corolla and 
deep rose or red calyx; Echinocereus Baileyi Rose (t. 8971), 
from North America; Carmichaelia australis R. Br. (t. 8972), 
froni New Zealand where it was discovered by Sir J. Banks and 
Dr. Solander in 1769; Rhododendron sinogrande Balf. f. & 
W. W. Smith (t. 8973), from South West Yunnan, the Chinese 
representative of the Himalayan R. grande; Gentiana rigescens 
Franch. (t. 8974), from China; Haemanthus Lynesii Stapt 
(t. 8975), a new species collected at Darfur on the Lake Chad- 
Nile divide by Admiral Lynes in 1921 and flowered by the late 
Mr. Elwes; Wattakaka sinensis Stapf (t. 8976), a climbing 
Asclepiad from Western China and Echiwm coeleste Stapt 
(t. 8977), a beautiful new species from the Canary Islands raised 
at Kew from seeds sent over by the late Dr. G. V. Perez of 
Orotava. 
The volume is very fittingly dedicated to Mr. George Forrest 
to whose energy and sagacity in his expeditions in China both 
Botanists and Horticulturists are so deeply indebted. 
The Vegetation and Soils of Africa*.—To attempt a review of 
the vegetation and of the soils of Africa in one small volume is 
a task that must have been as unsatisfactory to the authors as 
it is to the readers. More especially is this the case when the 
authors state that a careful digest has been made of the bib- 
liography which is enumerated in twenty eight pages, as well 
as many other works they have not cited. It is to be hoped 
that the vast amount of information which the authors have 
accumulated in their appreciation of these works will not be 
confined to these few pages but will be continued in further 
publications of this series. 
Both authors strike an entirely new note in their studies 
of the vegetation and soils of Africa. The vegetation is treated 
and summarised on its distinctive physical and physiological 
features, its floristic composition and affinities not being con- 
sidered. For instance the Cape vegetation and the “ maqui”’ 
of the Mediterranean are put in the same class under the heading 
of Temperate Brush. Even so the author distinguishes twenty- 
one types. The treatment of the soils is also a new departure 
for Africa and some very interesting deductions are given as to 
the possible, or previous, extent of types of vegetation. The 
synopses on present day agriculture, and the assessment of the 
types of land in terms of productivity render the book eminently 
suitable for agriculturists. 
* The Vegetation and Soils of Africa. H.L.Shantzand C. F. Marbut. 
Research Series, No. 13. American Geographical Society, Broadway at 
ue ee New York, pp. 262, x, 50 illustrations and two maps. 
Price $5. 
