500 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
having been formed by the hand of man, but are really natural 
2a due to _ fact that light surface- soil has been laid down 
over what appear to have been lake-deposits. Any given line of 
eee will aon a rge onrphe with quite a home-like look, 
separated by grass-lands; and, as Tanganyika is approached, they 
dwindle in size till they consist “of a few shrubs, overshadowed by 
giant Euphorbias, cactus-like in appearance. Then come stretches 
of grass, dotted with Euphorbias, and, last of all, the salt steppes 
by the lake, which is now held to have had at one time an outlet to 
the sea. Mr. Moore's explanation is that at first only the Ku- 
phorbias would grow on the salt steppes; but as these sprang up 
they afforded a shade and shelter to self-sown shrubs, each of 
which, as it established a footing, contributed to the natural 
planting of the area by the distribution a her seeds, till this 
process reached its highest development in the large plantations 
where the shrubs overtopped the Haphorbias. . which they owed 
their growth. 
We ventured last year to comment on the irrelevant details 
oie into the biographical notices published in the Proceedings 
the Linnean Society, and the pin ae issued seems to justify a 
sept Gon of our strictures. In one case, six lines are devoted 
the connection of a Fellow with the ‘bel Rifle Volunteers; he w 
also a freemason of long standing, and an angler. This Scituate 
however, did work which justifies his bitte in the biographies 
of a learned society; but as much cannot be said for the Fellow 
whose claims to distinction, apart oni is Wy aevicinchia of a pre- 
paratory school, rest his comeing of single Dahlias, and his 
success in showing them. ‘His first hobby in gardening was the 
Rose, but he relinquished it in fvont nee a flower which came into 
eae at a period of the year when he would pe more time 
to it 
Pr or. Dexprno publishes, in the Memoirs of the Accademia delle 
Scienze dell’ Istituto di Bologna, a very interesting ‘‘ Comparazione 
fries di due flore estreme artica ed antartica,’’ of which we may 
give some account at a later date. 
‘We a re glad to learn that Mr. Fraser Robinson _ eg are 
steadily working at a Flora of the East Riding of Yor 
Me. I. H. Burxm is leaving the Kew Herbarium net Calsatte, 
where he will act as assistant to Dr. Watt, whom he will ultimately 
succeed. Mr. Burkill leaves England in Januar 
Vou. xvi. of the Acta Horti Petropolitana is occupied by an 
enumeration of the plants collected in the Caucasus in 1890 by 
. Sommier and E. Levier. It fects a volume of 586 pages, 
aa is illustrated by forty-nine excellent plates, representing the 
more interesting of the new species described. In vols. xvii. and 
xviii. of the same Acta, M. J. Palibin gives a ‘‘Conspectus Flore 
one, % extending to Salicaces, sna illustrated by four plates. 
inaccuracy in dating  toecronshemt to which we have fre- 
quently called coset still continues. A new and important 
work, which we return Tater—-Die Flora der Deutschen 
