1912] CURRENT LITERATURE 255 
into a mountain scrub, consisting chiefly of stunted rata. The Auckland 
Islands have also extensive meadows and bogs. The paper closes with an 
account of the important influence played by animals upon the vegetation. 
The plant formations of Campbell Island are described by R. M. Laine. 
This island contains no trees, the tallest vegetation being the Dracophyllum 
scrub; the treelessness is ascribed to the violent westerly gales. Apart from 
the scrub, Campbell Island has interesting tussock meadows. Some of the 
geological papers will interest botanists. The zoological papers are of interest 
chiefly to taxonomic specialists in the groups concerned.—H. C. CowLes 
The geographic botany of Belgium 
Massart’s long years of patient study in every part of Belgium have made 
possible the publication of a splendid treatise on the flora of the country from 
the standpoint of phytogeography.6 His previous monograph on the dune 
vegetation of Belgium is still fresh in the minds of phytogeographers, and the 
work here noticed is all the more welcome because of the excellent impression 
made by the earlier volume. This splendid work is dedicated to the memory 
of ERRERA, and copies were presented to the members of the botanical congress 
at Brussels. In the introduction the author sets forth his views concerning 
the methods. and purposes of geographic botany, and shows how greatly the 
methods of ecological — differ from those of floristic geography. 
Interesting remarks are made on the relations of “accommodation” to the 
composition of plant associatio 
The first chapter deals vik ‘a geology of Belgium, and the second with 
climate and soil. As is well known, much of the country is of very recent 
origin, so recent, in fact, that historical seounes are available as to many points. 
Under the caption climate there i 
data. The third chapter presents the chief kinds of “plant associations that 
are represented in Belgium. e great density of population of the country 
for many centuries has greatly modified the natural vegetation cover, yet 
Massart has been able to discover and describe a very large number of asso- 
ciations of representative composition, in fact, nearly all that are to be found 
in western Europe. The chief open associations are found on rocks and on 
moving dunes, and natural closed associations are represented by heaths, 
fixed dunes, pans, and bogs. In this part of the volume there are many text 
figures which illustrate the modification of plants when exposed to diverse 
The final chapter considers in detail the various geobotanic districts of Belgium. 
®Massart, J., Esquisse de la gtographie botanique de la Belgique. Rec. Ins 
Bot. Léo Errera, tome supplémentaire VII bis. pp. 332. jigs. 99. With annex 
containing 216 siitiple phototypes, 246 stereoscopic shobotypes: 9 maps, and 2 diagrams. 
Brussels. 1910. 
