58 Notes and Comments. 
THE NEWCASTLE MUSEUM. 
The Report of the Natural History Society of Northumber- 
land, Durham and Newcastle-upon-Tyne is more favourable 
than usual. Through the efforts of Mr. N. H. Martin sub- 
scriptions amounting to over £3,700 have been raised towards an 
endowment for the purpose of the Museum. {£25,000 is the 
amount required. The Curator still complains of being short- 
staffed, and gives particulars of the work that might be done 
if he had more help. A list of donations to the Museum 
accompanies the report. 
ANTARCTIC FOSSIL PLANTS. 
The Trustees of the British Museum have undertaken 
the publication of the natural history results of the British 
Antarctic (‘Terra Nova’) Expedition, 1910, sent out under the 
command of the late Captain Scott. It is proposed to issue 
the memoirs as they become ready for publication, and thus 
delay in publication is avoided. The first of the geological 
Memoirs to be completed is an account of the Antarctic Fossil 
Plants, * which is the work of Prof. A. C. Seward. 
A GLOSSOPTERIS FLORA IN THE ANTARCTIC. 
There are many useful pieces of information in this Memoir. 
The discovery of a Glossopteris flora in South Victoria Land, 
for instance, suggests interesting geological problems. Griffith 
Taylor has called attention to resemblances between the 
eastern side of Australia and Victoria Land, and in the structure 
of South Africa there are points of contact with the polar 
areas. Prof. Seward certainly adds a valuable chapter to our 
knowledge of palezobotany, thanks to the efforts of the heroes 
of the Antarctic. 
WEALDEN FLORAS. 
In the Hastings and East Sussex Naturalist (Vol. 2, No. 3), 
Prof. A. C. Seward has a valuable paper under this head. He 
shows that ‘a comparison of the floras of Japan, South Africa, 
North and South America, Europe and the Arctic regions 
reveals a surprising resemblance in the general facies of the 
vegetation and demonstrates the relative abundance of cos- 
mopolitan types. There were no doubt local differences in 
the composition of the floras, but these were much less marked 
than in equally distant countries at the present day. Another 
interesting fact 1s that a considerable number of the European 
species are most closely related to plants now characteristic 
of tropical and sub-tropical regions. With these were associ- 
ated Equisetaceous plants similar to existing species in English 
streams and hedgerows, and some of the Wealden Conifers 
* 4to., 49 pp., 8 plates, 6/-. 
Naturalist, 
