122 Bibliogi'aphical Notices, 



species belonging to it ; a second column defines the orders and 

 states the number of genera they contain ; and the third enumerates 

 a list of genera. 



Flora Aherdonensis ; comprehending a list of the Flowering Plants and 

 Ferns found in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, with remarks on the 

 Climate, the Features of the Vegetation, 8^c. By George Dickie, 

 A.M., &c. &c. 



This is a useful little manual for the botanical students of Aber- 

 deen ; and the preface, containing as it does very interesting facts 

 relative to the influence of climate, soil, &c., upon vegetation, will 

 be read by more distant botanists with interest. The catalogue in- 

 cludes such flowering plants and ferns as are found growing in a 

 range extending about fifteen miles round Aberdeen. The stations 

 are very exactly given, for the author has either seen dried or living 

 specimens, or has himself gathered in the district nearly all the spe- 

 cies mentioned : the total number is 584. The following remarks 

 occur regarding the plants which contribute to the formation of 

 peat : " The surface of the country is interspersed with marshes or 

 bogs, lakes or lochs, woods and moors, and these are very productive 

 of the plants producing the varieties of peat, severally named by 

 McCulloch (Edin. Phil. Journ. vol. ii.) mountain, marsh, forest, and 

 lake peat. In our marshes and bogs the plants which mostly contri- 

 bute to the formation of this very important natural production are 

 several species of Carex, as C. dioica, C. pulicaris, C. ampullacea. C. 

 curta, and sometimes C. teretiuscula ; also Erica tetralix, Eriophorum 

 angustifolium, and E. vaginatum ; also various species of Juncus, the 

 Menyanthes bifoliata, Caltha palustris, Pedicularis sylvatica and pa- 

 lustris, Comarum palustre, and, more rarely, Drosera Anglica, Schoenus 

 nigricans, and many others. In such places, and also on the borders 

 of lochs, we find what are called quaking bogs, consisting of a semi- 

 fluid mass of peat, the surface of which is covered with vegetation. 

 The adventurous botanist, whose ardour leads him into such si- 

 tuations, entirely owes his safety to the matted roots and stems of 

 the diff^erent plants. 



In lochs the following plants principally contribute to the forma- 

 tion of peat : Scirpus lacustris, Arundo Phragmites, the yellow and 

 white vjater lilies, Sparganium natans, Phalaris arundinacea, &c., and 

 about their edges in shallower water, Littorella lacustris, Scirpus seta- 

 ceus, Peplis Portula, and, more rarely (in this district), Subularia 

 aquatica, Pilularia globuUfera, Lobelia Dortmanna, Utricularia inter- 

 media, and others. The variety called Mountain Peat is produced in 



