166 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [FEBRUARY 
in a systematic way the very chaotic literature of the subject. It is concluded 
that the chief structural features of these plants are connected with the tran- 
spiring surface and the accumulation of water. As to the transpiring surface, 
there is a greater or less amount of reduction, supplemented in many cases by 
features that tend to diminish transpiration, such as protected stomata, 
aerial water absorption, wax coats, etc. The formation of the water tissue that 
gate halophytes, whereas other plants (as Aster Tripolium) are facultative 
halophytes, and still others (as Suaeda fruticosa) can endure either saline or 
non-saline habitats without appreciable structural change. In some cases suc- 
culence is a hereditary feature, whereas in others it is related to the conditions 
experienced by the individual showing it. The author believes that water 
tissue in all cases is of advantage in allowing a plant to “support a rate of 
water loss which is very considerable, aigtiee to the transpiring surface.”— 
H. C. Cow es. 
The vegetation of Clare Island, Ireland.—A paper by R. L. PRAEGER on 
the vascular plants of Clare Island is but one of a large series of papers, pub- 
lished as Volume 31 of the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. The 
total number of papers or parts is 68, thus representing probably the most 
complete natural history survey ever made of any district in the world. The 
work has been carried on by more than a hundred specialists. The thorough- 
ness with which the work has been done is well illustrated by the fact that in 
18 papers there are recorded nearly 700 species of plants and animals not pre- 
viously found in Ireland, 60 not previously found in the British Isles, and 17 
species that are new to science 
Clare Island is an prone headland, seer six square miles, and 
situated three miles from the mainland. ighest point is 1500 feet above 
the sea. The number of vascular plants sates to the island is under 400. 
The dominating vegetation type is moorland, which includes —- every- 
thing over 200 feet. On the precipitous Croaghmore cliff, 1500 feet high, 
there is a remarkable alpine colony of 10 species, some of which come down 
almost to sea-level. There is a detailed and interesting discussion of the origin 
of the flora. Attention is given to the possibility of a land bridge. Wind 
and birds are regarded as more important than water as dispersing agents. 
s PRAEGER, R. L., Phanerogamia and Pteridophyta. Clare Island Survey; 4 
scientific survey of Clare Island, in the county of Mayo, Ireland, and of the adjoining 
parts of the mainland. Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. 31”: 1-112. pls. 6. 1911. The entire 
series can be secured for 60s. from the Secretary, Royal Irish Academy, Dawson St., 
Dublin. . 
