785 



15. East Highlands. — Fife, Kinross, Clackmannan, Stirling, Perth, 



Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Banff, Moray, 

 (including Nairn, Elgin, and the north-east of 

 Inverness) . 



16. West Highlands.— Dumbarton, Argyle, Inveraess, westward 



of Loch Erricht. Isles adjacent, from Arran to 

 Skye. 



17. North Highlands. — Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland, Caith- 



ness. 



18. North Isles. — Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland." 



" The uses of these * Provinces ' may be shortly recapitulated. 

 First, they afford a method for showing the areas of plants, as facts 

 in nature, independently of all theoretical explanations and reasons. 

 Secondly, they may be taken as a primary step towards a census of 

 the species, in respect of their comparative frequency ; those most 

 widely and generally distributed, even in large spaces, being usually 

 also the most common species. With increasing knowledge, the 

 census will probably be founded on counties or smaller sections ; 

 though this degree of exactness cannot be perfectly reached at present. 

 Thirdly, so far as it is shown, the distribution of the species will be 

 shown with greater comparative accuracy ; because our lists for pro- 

 vinces can be made much more full and accurate, than would be the 

 case with county lists of species, or lists for other smaller sections. 

 Fourthly, much circumlocution and tedious enumeration of names 

 may be avoided, through referring to the distribution of species by few 

 provinces, rather than by many counties. But, fifthly, it is to be re- 

 membered that these provinces are only arbitrary sections, adopted 

 for convenience in description and reference, instead of counties. So 

 far as they do correspond with peculiarities in the physical geography 

 of Britain, it is an advantageous circumstance ; although such a cor- 

 respondence is not necessary to their object or use. The divisions 

 next to come under consideration, on the contrary', are natural ; inas- 

 much as they will be traced in correspondence with the actual distri- 

 bution of plants, and without reference to political or other conventional 

 )oundaries." 



The author's observations on regions and zones must be studied by 

 every botanist ; they possess great interest, and the more as recording, 

 in some instances, records of the author's personal observations : we 

 may, however, caution juvenile botanists against drawing inferences 

 from any casual list of plants they may have observed at certain ele- 



