Feb. 1903.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 269 



counties have been the basis for very much of the best 

 topographical work of the past half-century. The con- 

 sistent use of well-recognised divisions has allowed of 

 the results being tabulated, and, by showing where con- 

 spicuous gaps in the records existed, it has directed 

 attention to these, and has led to their being filled. 



But there are very evident defects in the employment of 

 divisions that are so often quite artificial and of unequal 

 extent, even with the modifications in their boundaries 

 and areas that Mr. Watson employed, and in which he 

 has been followed. Within recent years the boundaries 

 of many counties have been considerably altered, and in 

 some cases the older records have been a good deal altered 

 thereby, and may become misleading. In the valuable 

 handbook of " The Flora and Fauna of the Clyde District/' 

 prepared for the meeting of the British Association in 

 Glasgow in 1901, a strictly artificial method was followed, 

 the basis of the river and firth being sub-divided by 

 parallels of latitude and of longitude at each degree and 

 half-degree ; and the areas so bounded are denoted by 

 capital letters. 



When we seek to gain from books or lists a trustworthy 

 conception of the flora of the district of which each treats, 

 and, still more, if we wish to compare the past condition 

 as recorded for us with the flora as we know it, we find 

 that, in almost every case, much is left untouched that we 

 should greatly like to have a record of. That a plant has 

 been observed in a district is worth noting as a fact in 

 topographical botany, but much more is frequently desir- 

 able. If it be a critical species or variety, we should know 

 by whom it was determined, and if a specimen was seen 

 by an expert, and has been preserved as a voucher. If 

 there is no doubt as to accuracy of the determination, 

 there are questions requiring an answer as regards its 

 occurrence, such as the likelihood of its havini:: been 

 introduced by man, its frequency, whether it seems to be 

 extending its range or losing ground, its habitats, etc. 

 But to most such questions an answer is not often found 

 in published records. 



The work so successfully begun by Mr. Eobert Smith, 

 and the value of which has been well urged by Dr. W. 



