NOTES AND COMMENTS. ^ 



THE SPORTOPHYTE. 



'Volume ' III. of this ' British Journal of Botanical Humour,' 

 the ' only comic scientific journal,' has made its appearance, 

 and apparently the first piece of humour is giving the name 

 ' volume ' to a pamphlet of twenty-four pages. But we do not 

 consider that the present ' volume ' is as amusing as its prede- 

 cessors. Dr. Stopes is evidently taking an interest in lan- 

 guages, and we find notes in French and German, though, as 

 in the case of some of the contributions in English, the humour 

 is very ' thin.' There are the usual botanical definitions, 

 that of ' Siphonogames ' being ' certain people who have very 

 much need for soda-water in the morning.' There is a quaint 

 poem on the ' Origin of the Angiosperms,' and a really charming 

 ' Ecological Study of the Distribution of Vegetation in the 

 Potteries.' 



AX ECOLOGICAL STUDY. 



In this we learn that the area investigated was King Williain 

 Street, Tunstall. The street runs exactly north and south, 

 sloping steeply towards the south. Consequently each side 

 receives approximately the same amount of illumination, 

 though, in both cases, the intensity is slight, owing to the 

 prevalence of carbon in the air. The vegetation of the street 

 is strictly limited to the window of the one front room, down- 

 stairs, of each house. This room, technically known as the 

 ' best room ' or ' parlour,' is seldom used, and seldomer venti- 

 lated, so that we can safely assume that we are dealing with a 

 virgin forest flora. The most striking feature is the dominance 

 of Aspidistra lurida.' Details are then given of the actual 

 numbers, and percentages, of houses in the street ; the number 

 in which Aspidistra occurs, on the west side, and on the 

 east side. A diagram showing the distribution of the species 

 is promised when the paper appears ' in full.' And so on. 

 The ' New Phytologist ' may be obtained from the editor at 

 the University College, London, for a shilling. 



CLARE ISLAND 



It is safe to say that no part of the British Islands has 

 been studied more systematically than Clare Island. This 

 excellent piece of work, organised by Mr. R. Lloyd Praeger, 

 is very comprehensive, and includes not only the geology and 

 physical features of the island, its history and archaeology, 

 agriculture and meteorology, but also every branch of natural 

 history. Each section is being dealt with by a specialist, and 

 Mr. Praeger is to be congratulated on his success in securing 

 the active assistance of so many authorities who have made 

 special visits to the island for the purposes of the survey. 

 The results are being published by the Royal Irish Academy. 



1912 July I. O 



