4o: 



NATURE 



[January 24, 19 18 



NEW GUINEA AS A CENTRE FOR \ 

 PLANT DISTRIBUTION. j 



Dutch N. W. New Guinea. A Contribution to the 1 

 Phy to geography and Flora o\f the Arfak Moun- 

 tains, etc. By L. S. Gibbs. Pp. iv + 226. 

 (London : Taylor and Francis, 1917.) Price 

 125. 6d}. 



THE north-western portion of New Guinea is 

 still a very little known region, owing to the 

 great difficulty of penetrating into the interior 

 mountains, which rise fairly abruptly from the 

 coast to a height of 5000 ft. to 7000 ft. 



The first collection of plants from this region 

 was made by Lesson in 1824; Beccari collected 

 there in 1872 and 1875; Gjellerup in 1912 made 

 extensive botanical collections ; and the most re- 

 cent contribution to our knowledge of the botany 

 of this interesting country comes from Miss L, S. 

 Gibbs, who is well known for the important work 

 she has done in investigating the flora of Mount 

 Kinabalu, Borneo, in particular. The object of 

 her travels in New Guinea was to study the flora 

 of the Arfak Mountains and to compare it, with 

 that of Kinabalu and the mountains of Malaya 

 on one hand, and with the Australian flora on 

 the other. The account of her hazardous journey 

 and her conclusions as to the affinities of the flora 

 are of great scientific interest. Owing to New 

 Guinea being so little known, its importance as a 

 centre for plant distribution has never been pro- 

 perly reaUsed. Interest has always been concen- 

 trated either on Malaya or on Australia, whereas 

 the results obtained by Miss Gibbs and by the 

 WoUaston expedition in Dutch New Guinea go far 

 to prove that New Guinea is really the focus of 

 distribution for many types hitherto considered 

 Polynesian or Australian. This applies to some 

 extent also to Malayan types, of which the Papuan 

 species appear to be not only older in type, but 

 also very highly differentiated. 



The endemic mountain types of New Guinea are 

 found to have a wide distribution, and the low moun- 

 tain forest flora shows marked afl|nity with that of 

 the ridge formation of Kinabalu and thef Philippines. 

 In the forest region such interesting coniferous 

 trees as Araucaria Beccarii, Li'hocedrus arfakensis 

 — the genus being new to Dutch New Guinea — 

 several species of Podocarpus and Phyllocladus, 

 and a Dacrydium are commonly met with. Some 

 good photographs of the Araucaria are reproduced. 

 Six Rhododendrons, two being new species, and 

 seven species of Vaccinium serve to indicate the 

 northern affinities of the high mountain flora and 

 its connection with that of Kinabalu. 



During her short stay on the island' Miss Gibbs 

 collected 330 plants, 100 of which have proved to 

 be new to science. Among genera not previously 

 known from New Guinea may be cited Hibbertia, 

 hitherto considered Australian and New Caledo- 

 nian ; Centrolepis, which connects the country 

 with Borneo, the Philippines, and southern 

 China on one hand, and with Australia and 

 New Zealand on the other; and Patersonia, which, 

 with the exception of southern China, shows a 

 NO. 2517, VOL. 100] 



similar distribution, but was formerly considered 

 to be a purely AustraUan genus. 



Many of the new species are figured, but it is to 

 be regretted that there are no proper references 

 to the plates, and that the map and plan are so 

 inadequate. A. W. H. 



HISTOLOGY OF VEGETABLE DRUGS. 

 Histology of Medicinal Plants. By Prof. W. 

 Mansfield. Pp. xi + 305. (New York: John 

 Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and 

 Hall, Ltd., 1916.) Price 135. 6d. net. 



DURING the last few years a considerable 

 amount of attention has been given to 

 the histology of medicinal plants, or perhaps more 

 correctly to the histology of organised vegetable 

 drugs, and the importance of the subject is be- 

 coming more adequately recognised. Prof. Mans- 

 field's work is the latest addition to the text-books 

 on this section of vegetable histology, and on that 

 account demands careful attention. 



The author divides his work into three parts. 

 Part i. deals with the simple and compound 

 microscope, part ii. with tissues, cells, and cell- 

 contents, and part iii. with the histology of roots, 

 rhizomes, etc. 



In part i. the usual details and illustrations of 

 simple and compound microscopes are to be found, 

 together with brief details on the mounting and 

 preservation of slides. In part ii. various tissues, 

 cells, and cell-contents are enumerated, and brief 

 allusion is made to the differences between similar 

 cells in certain drugs. This part is very fully 

 illustrated with original drawings that have been 

 carefully executed and that certainly do not err 

 on the side of insufficient magnification. Part iii. 

 deals in a similar way with the sections and 

 powders of a very limited number of drugs. 



There Is nothing in the arrangement or general 

 treatment of the details in these three parts that 

 calls for special remark ; it remains to be seen to 

 what extent the author has been successful in 

 attaining the object with which the book was 

 written, and whether it can be recommended as 

 a "practical scientific course . . . for the use of 

 teachers and scholars in schools and colleges. 



Now the essence of a practical course is in- 

 struction in the best methods of carrying out 

 certain systematically arranged operations. It is 

 much to be regretted that such instruction is not 

 to be found in the book, and that there is no 

 systematic course, progressing from simple to 

 more difficult operations, outlined for the student. 

 Meagre details occur here and there. The index 

 affords little or no assistance, and it is to be 

 doubted whether the object the author has in 

 view will be attained until the work has been 

 entirely remodelled. Should he take this task in 

 hand, he would be well advised to submit many / 

 of his statements to searching revision, to correct 

 inaccuracies, to introduce greater precision, and 

 to make himself further acquainted 'with relevant 

 literature. As an example, the statements on 

 p. 85, lines I to 20, may be critically considered : 



