Botany in the Island of Montreal. 89 



Holmes' activity in this connection. Besides, Dr. Holmes' 

 investigations barely touched on the Ju.ncacca', the Grami- 

 nem and the Cyperacca', three important families on which 

 the writer, in conjunction with Dr. Harold B. Cashing, of 

 Montreal, has made a pretty thorough report. The Phane- 

 rogamous plants of the island, it may be said, are now fairly 

 well known, and liave been pretty fully catalogued. The 

 same may be said of the Ferns, Club-mosses and Horse- 

 tails. Dr. H. B. Cushing reported on the former in the 

 Eecord of Science, Vol.VL, No. 8, p. 488, while the writer 

 has described them, along with all the ferns to be found 

 in Eastern Canada, in the magazine published by the 

 Horticultural Society of Montreal. 



And now it remains to point out the desiderata of the 

 botany of the district. The whole domain of tlie local 

 Acrogens has yet to be reported on, with the exception of 

 the ferns, horsetails and club-mosses. Tlie Fungi, the 

 Mosses, the Lichens, the Charte and the Hepaticas of the 

 island of Montreal are still in large measure an unknown 

 quantity. In Mr. Watt's catalogue and in the later and 

 completer lists of Professor Macoun, there is no distinction 

 made between the Acrogens of the district and those of 

 the rest of the Dominion, so that there is here an inviting- 

 field for local botanists to enter. And a rich harvest 

 awaits them. Professor Macoun informs me that he has 

 found no fewer than 200 mosses in the neighbourhood of 

 Ottawa. The district of Montreal may be expected to 

 yield at least as large a number. And, then, in the 

 department of microscopic Fungi the field of observation is 

 almost unlimited. The enthusiastic microscopists of the 

 society cannot do better than turn their attention to this 

 vast field at present lying waste for lack of some one to 

 cultivate it, and thus render effective service to our bota- 

 nical section. 



What is necessary is that the work remaining to be 

 done should be divided up,— that some of the members of 



