FLORA OF JAMAICA 1i7 
cannot have been an easy task. There are 38 species of pelea mia 
of Piper; 11 of Ficus, three of them new, Dr. 
one new species; and 19 of ——s The Crucifere are alm 
confined to common weeds; we note by the vere = the Water. 
cress appears as Nasturtiwm Fae Asch., me daioyi _ 
British books, resulting from the fact that its eiliont: na 
Linnezus, is Cardamine foniana Lam. (1786): the trivial a 
Linneus, who called it Sisymbriuwm Nasturtium-aquaticum, cannot 
be retained under Nastwrtiwm 
Very full use has been made of the old collections, of which 
Sloane’s is the chief, in the National Herbarium, and the synonyms 
the excellent (and, we are glad to note, single) index. The where- 
abouts of type specimens is carefully indicated, though we thin 
, uld 
better, when, as in the case of Casimir de Candolle, the same 
author is responsible for two works, to give full reference to each 
whenever it is quoted. We note by the way that “tom. cit.” is 
sometimes employed instead of “op. cit.”—this strikes us as a new 
abbreviation, and there seems no reason why both should be used. 
It remains to be said that every page bears evidence to the care 
with which the work has been executed, and that the volume is 
excellent. It is anticipated that the aa aarp will occupy 
three more volumes, thus completing the work in six 
BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, de. 
At the meeting of the Linnean ranrgtt on February 18th, 1915, 
Mr. Harold Wager gave an account of his recent researches upon 
“The Action of Light upon Chlorophyll,’ - "iihiatradiog his remarks 
with lantern-slides, many being autochromes. He stated that 
the chemical changes produced by light on the green leaf, sugar 
and starch being evolved from carbon dioxide and water, are still 
obscure. By making a film of chlorophyll upon paper and on 
glass,\ by floating an alcdholic solution and allowing it to dry, he 
was able to bleach a ——* sistas strong sunlight, _ ee 
a portion by black paper; when this was tested b solu- 
tion, the exposed, that is bleached, portion became sink, the 
cape portion pt no colour change. other experi- 
iis in perverse. of the Wieehion « of 
aceon which acts upon the starch on the “il It was then 
tried whether the solution of chlorophyll it f gave the reaction. 
Four test-tubes were partly filled with = solution of chorea = 
ere exposed to light and 
in petroleum plier deperkid ; two w 
