OcTOBER 9, 1913] 
NATURE 
163 
which, however, includes about 180 cultivated 
_ plants. 
The work is in English and comprises adequate 
descriptions of the families, genera, species, and 
varieties; the systematic arrangement is that of 
Engler’s Syllabus. Under each species references 
are given to relevant synonymy, and the distribu- 
tion in the area under consideration is worked out 
in detail. About one-third of the second volume 
is occupied by a series of appendixes, including 
(1) a brief account of botanical work in 
Egypt; (2) a phytogeographical subdivision of the 
area into five districts—Mediterranean, Nile-delta, 
Oases of the Libyan Desert, Desert region, and 
Red Sea region; (3) a tabulated list of all the 
species and their distribution in these districts; 
(4) a similar table showing the distribution of 
Egyptian species in the Mediterranean basin; (5) 
a list of the commoner cultivated and garden 
plants; (6) a glossary; and (7) a list of Arabian 
names. The “Flora” forms a useful working 
handbook to the plants of Lower Egypt, and will 
be much valued by those interested in the botany 
of this ancient land. 
(2) Miss Mack’s “‘Bush Days” is a readable 
little volume consisting of short chapters on the 
plants and birds, and their habitats, which are 
still to be found within easy reach of Sydney. 
The letterpress is illustrated by numerous well- 
executed photographic reproductions, and the 
book, though obviously written for the author’s 
near neighbours, may be read with interest and 
profit by lovers of nature in other parts of the 
world. 
(3) Mr. White’s ‘Flora of Bristol,” described 
as “the outcome of an ideal hobby, cultivated in 
the spare moments of a business career,” is a 
good example of a modern local flora. As no de- 
scriptions of genera and species are given, it must 
be used in association with a general “British 
Flora,” but it is rich in critical notes on the plants 
and their occurrence within the limits of the area 
under consideration. Full details of habitat are 
given—a circumstance which will, it is hoped, not 
lead to the extinction of some of the rarer forms 
by greedy or over-zealous collectors. 1138 flower- 
ing plants are recorded as native or colonists, and 
a number of aliens are also included in smaller 
type. Ferns and Characee bring the total up to 
1178. . The number is likely to decrease, as some 
of the rarer plants are noted as less common than 
formerly and as extinct in former localities. Mr. 
White mentions 193 species as rare or local and 
218 as very rare. Three, formerly native, are 
now extinct, namely, sea-kale (Crambe maritima), 
the rare galingale (Cyperus longus), which, for- 
merly abundant in a single locality, has been 
NO. 2293, VOL. 92| 
exterminated by draining and cultivating, and a 
sedge (Carex Davalliana), found a century ago 
near Bath, but long since destroyed by drainage. 
The last species is of interest as having supplied 
the figured specimen for “English Botany.” 
In addition to the systematic portion, Mr. 
White gives a valuable introduction, including 
notes on the geology of the district and an analysis 
of the flora in relation to the different geological 
areas. There is also an interesting history of 
Bristol botany, with biographical notices of 
botanists, from William Turner, the father of 
English botany, who as Dean of Wells spent some 
years in the district, onwards to recent workers. 
(4) Botanists who have visited the Engadine 
will turn with interest to Dr. Ribel’s exhaustive 
account of the plant-geography of the Bernina 
district. The author is a pupil of Dr. Schréter, 
and his book is a tribute to the well-known zeal 
of his teacher in the ecological study of the botany 
of the Swiss Alps. Factors of climate, soil, and 
position are studied in detail, and a useful account 
is given of the various plant-formations. There 
is also a complete flora of the district, including 
flowering plants and cryptogams, in the elabora- 
tion of which Dr. Ritbel has had. the help of 
specialists in the various groups. A notable 
feature of the book are the beautiful photographic 
reproductions; and there is also an excellent fold- 
ing map. 
(5) Dr. R. Knuth’s contribution to “Das 
Pflanzenreich ”— a monograph of the Geraniacee 
—is one of the most important of this series. It 
is of interest to the horticulturist as well as to 
the botanist, as it includes an elaborate account 
of the hybrids of the genus Pelargonium, the 
source of the so-called geraniums and zonal pelar- 
goniums of our gardens. The plan of the volume 
is similar to that of the other monographs of the 
series—a general account of the vegetative and 
floral morphology and the distribution of the 
family, followed by a detailed systematic descrip- 
tion of the genera, species, and varieties, a fair 
proportion of which are illustrated in the eighty 
plates. Dr. Knuth recognises about 600 species, 
259 of which are included in Geranium (to which 
belong our crane’s-bills), while 232 belong to the 
great South African genus Pelargonium. Ero- 
dium—including our — stork’s-bill—has _ sixty 
species. These three great genera, with two less 
important, form the tribe Geraniez, char- 
acterised by the twisted beak of the fruit—the 
remaining six genera, the fruit of which is not 
beaked, show greater diversity of floral structure, 
and are distributed among four small tribes. 
Dr. Krause has elaborated for the same series 
of monographs the two families Goodeniacee and 
