230 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [September 



introduction, the outlines of plant distribution in the whole continent; then the 

 history of botanical exploration in extratropical West Australia; the physical 

 geography of this region; an ecological study of the vegetation of the southwest 

 province, lying near the coast, and that of the Eremaea pro\ince, which fills the 

 rest and extends far beyond the bounds of West Australia; and finally a discussion 

 of the floristic regions, the elements of the flora, its relations to others, and its 

 developmental history. 



It is quite impossible to summarize this work, or to do more than direct atten- 

 tion to it as a thorough and careful report of the present state of knowledge regarding 

 this bit of that great continent. For only a beginning has been made around the 

 edges; and only a realization of the fact that in the interior there are great stretches 

 that probably present a nearly uniform vegetation, prevents one feeling unduly 

 the meagerness of the present knowledge, even with this great addition. 



DiELS finds that in this geologically little disturbed southwestern region there 

 has been the quiet development of a flora quite at one originally with that in the 

 east, though the two are now widely separated by the Eremaea province, and the 

 eastern flora has been disturbed by competition with other elements. In the spe- 

 cially favorable conditions of the southwest, however, development along lines of 

 progressive endemism has brought many genera to remarkable expansion and 

 high differentiation. Diels rejects as an error the idea of many authors (notably 

 Wallace) that the West Australian flora represents the original one, which spread 

 east; he considers it rather as an old panaustralian one, further specialized. The 

 Eremaea flora prevails in a climate which could not have corresponded to the 

 conditions of the old Australian flora; it is rather a selection from the primitive 

 flora adapted to the gradual drying and enriched from the tropical north. Finally, 

 there has come the disturbing influence of man. Even the aborigines set fire to 

 the "bush," and the Europeans, in the seven decades of their occupation, have 

 wrought still greater changes. 



The illustrations are numerous. Part are half-tones, from photographs by 

 Pfitzer; part are detailed drawings, after the style of the PflanzenjamilieHj of 

 the characteristic species. A topical index and one to plant names (not as con- 

 venient as a single one) makes the matter readily available. — C. R. B. 



Plant geography 



In spite of our tardiness in reviewing it, we cannot forbear calling attention 

 to the brief discussion of certain central topics of plant geography by Count 

 Solms-Laubach.4 The book has erown nut of ]prtiirp.<^. mven \\v\ce in the course 



Graf 



Pflanzengeographie in kurzer Darstellung. 8vo. pp. x+ 243. Leipzig: Arthur 

 Felix. 1905. M 8. 



This work was received at the close of 1905 and was sent at once to a competent 

 reviewer, but was overlooked and recently returned at the editors' request. 



