388 Notes and Comments. 



and seaside. At Section E, Mr. C. E. Moss gave a very clear 

 summary of his investig"ations into the age and origin of the 

 peat moors of the Southern Pennines. As the evidence of one 

 who really knows these peat-mosses the paper is a valuable 

 one, and it is good to hear that arrangements are being made 

 for its publication. When it appears there will be material both 

 for reflection and discussion. A first instalment of ' A Botanical 

 Survey of the Basins of the Rivers Eden, Tees, Tyne, and 

 Wear' by Mr. F. J. Lewis (Liverpool) was read in his absence. 

 This paper (and map) is to appear later in the same series as the 

 recently published papers on Geographical Distribution of Vege- 

 tation in Yorkshire, and will be an important part of a contem- 

 plated survey of the Pennines from Derbyshire to the Cheviots. 

 The vegetation of the moors of Westmorland presents some 

 striking diff'erence from that of the West Riding. An important 

 addition is the Sphagnum bog which occurs on large areas north 

 of Hawes. The discovery of Scots Pine buried in the peat at 

 about 2,000 feet gives a new aspect to the distribution of this 

 tree in the uplands of Northern England. The other papers in 

 Section E were suggestions brought forward by Dr. Darbishire 

 (Manchester) and Dr. W. G. Smith (Leeds), that travellers and 

 explorers outside of Britain might give fuller reports on the 

 plant-life seen by them ; the botanical survey work in Britain 

 was referred to as a guide in the preparation of maps and notes. 

 The geographers seemed well pleased with their sitting. 



On visiting the section for Botany, Mr. Woodhead was 

 found to be explaining * Methods of Mapping Plant Distribution,' 

 an outcome of work in the Huddersfield district, on the six-inch 

 and twenty-five inch scale. By means of maps and lantern 

 slides it was shown how closely linked the undergrowth of 

 a wood is to the trees overhead, and how changes in the trees 

 are closely followed by the ground-plants. There were also 

 fleeting glimpses of good work done, such as the working out 

 of the structure of the Bracken on the hillside, as compared with 

 the Bracken in the open Oak wood and in more deeply shaded 

 woods. Some careful observation on the life-history of the 

 Blue-bell seems also to be going on round Huddersfield. But 

 the section was jaded after a morning amongst fossils and life- 

 history, the lunch hour was diminishing, and the sandhills excur- 

 sion set off^ at 2 p.m. In the President's own words, however, 

 the local survey work had come in 'like a breath of fresh air,' 

 and the section evidently thought the fresh air was not un- 

 welcome. 



Naturalist. 



