May 2, 1912] 
NATURE 
292 
organise and carry out a-systematic survey of the | 
vegetation of the British Isles has worked hard. 
Much surveying and mapping has been done, and 
several memoirs dealing with widely separated 
areas have been published. Though further work 
is required before a complete account could be 
presented, yet enough has been accomplished to 
obtain a general idea of the principal types occur- 
ring. 
The volume now issued summarises in a clear 
and useful manner the results that have so far been 
obtained, and provides the student with a sketch 
of the British vegetation from an entirely new 
point of view. The book is based on the work of 
the committee referred to. Mr. A. G. Tansley has 
acted as editor, chapters being furnished by dif- 
ferent workers, he himself, moreover, being 
responsible for a large proportion of the whole. 
The joint authorship works well, and results in 
a certain freshness of style, owing to each writer 
being specially familiar with the region he 
describes. 
A short section in the first part of the book 
deals with the general conditions obtaining in the 
British Isles, the whole of part ii. being devoted 
to the description of the various formations and 
associations recognised. The plant-formations of 
clays and loams, of sandy soils, and of heaths are 
first described by the editor, and a chapter follows, 
by C. E. Moss, on the plant-formation of the older 
siliceous rocks. The vegetation of calcareous soils 
is next taken up, Tansley and Rankin dealing 
with the sub-formation of chalk, and Moss with 
that of the older limestones. A short chapter on 
general aquatic vegetation is inserted, though in- 
formation on this subject is scanty. The fen and 
aquatic formations of East Norfolk are, however, 
dealt with in detail by Miss Pallis; and G. S. West 
gives a short account of the Phytoplankton of the 
lakes of the British Isles. The moor formation 
receives considerable attention, the lowland and 
upland moors being described by Rankin, and by 
Lewis and Moss respectively. A very interesting 
section on the Arctic-alpine vegetation is contri- 
buted by W. G. Smith, who deals chiefly with 
the slopes and corries of Ben Lawers, though here 
again much further work is required. The final 
chapter concerns the vegetation of the sea-coast, 
and contains, amongst others, an account by 
Oliver of the maritime communities of the 
Blakeney Harbour district. 
The principal formations are in many cases 
divided into three associations, representing 
woodland, scrub, and grassland, and these, if need 
be, are subdivided into a number of smaller com- 
munities (sub-associations and societies). Progres- 
sive and retrogressive associations receive due 
NO. 2218, VOL. 89] 
attention, and the serious amount of degenerating 
woodland that exists in England repeatedly 
emphasised. 
Although many areas in Great Britain and 
Ireland remain to be investigated, Mr. Tansley’s 
“Types of British Vegetation” forms a most 
welcome addition to ecological literature, and one 
which will be indispensable to every student of the 
subject in this country. Well arranged, and illus- 
trated by a number of excellent photographs, the 
book will not only be valuable to botanists, but 
should attract and stimulate inquiry amongst all 
who take interest in the vegetation of our islands. 
ARDC: 
is 
RECENT BOTANICAL PUBLICATIONS. 
(1) Plant Life: a Text-book of Botany for Schools 
and Colleges. By Prof. Eug. Warming. 
Translated from the fourth edition of the Danish 
(Eug. Warming and C. Raunkizr) by Metta M. 
Rehling and Elizabeth M. Thomas. Pp. viii+ 
244. (London: G. Allen and Co., Ltd., rgrr.) 
Price 4s. 6d. net. 
(2) Wild Flowers as they Grow: Photographed 
in Colour Direct from Nature. By H. Essen- 
high Corke. With descriptive text by G. 
Clarke Nuttall. Second series. Pp. vii+ 197. 
(London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1911.) Price 
HSalet. 
(3) Plant Life and Evolution. By Prof. D. H. 
Campbell. Pp. iv+360. American Nature 
Series. (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 
rgtt.) Price 1.60 dollars net. 
(4) An Intermediate Text-book of Botany. By 
Ernest Evans. Pp. viii+394. (London: 
Longmans, Green and Co., 1911.) Price 6s. 
N the first of these volumes the treatment of 
the subject matter is excellent, and follows 
a plan which is considerably different from that 
generally adopted in most of the English ele- 
mentary text-books. The whole book bespeaks 
of the wide range of knowledge possessed by its 
illustrious author, and is written with a terseness 
and accuracy which is the outcome of a deep and 
extensive store of fact. A good feature of the 
‘book is the reference to so many plants with 
which the student has and almost 
every-day acquaintance. 
The illustrations are for the most part very 
good, and not only are they more varied than is 
usually the case in such a small volume, but they 
are likewise considerably different in character 
from those found in most of the English text- 
books. The illustration of Atropa belladonna 
(on p. 178) is poor, and that of Sphagnum (on 
p. 210) presents a peculiar appearance owing te 
a common 
