128 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
Herbarium from Newbould’s herbarium. The name of the collector 
of the Belfast specimen is illegible, but the ticket is in Syme’s 
ha the Channel: Islands specimens ar “var. sphero- 
stachya” by New = Pe Sener them. The plant—which 
should bear the nam o lanceolata Li., var. spherostachya 
Réhlings—will doabulees wes somnié in other herbaria. 
REPRESENTATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 
By R. Lroyp Prarcer. 
WueEn is studying or comparing the distribution of plants 
or painikle’ it in Yahi islands, a list of the areas in which a species 
occurs, such as is given in Watson’s Topographical Botany, the 
[rece Society’s satis or beers Hibernica is not sufficient, 
While the numbers or names convey a general idea to the mind, 
they leave no definite sictouial impression, and for actual compari- 
son of two distributions we must have recourse to a map, on which 
we mark a areas in which each species is found. 
Simi when we come to publish a paper dealing with such 
problems, the oS representation of distribution is very desir- 
able for the sake of clearness, but the trouble and expense of 
rs know allowance for the space occupied by 
illustrations. These considerations lead me to suggest the totlowile 
plan, which will in most cases serve sufficiently well the purpose 
stated, and by which the expense referred to above may be practi- 
ly eliminated. 
Let us take Watson’s map of Great Britain, divided into one 
hundred and twelve vice-counties, with the. number which ‘has 
been given to each vice-county written in the centre of the area to 
the Fails part of Watson’s map lends aes a well to 
dish an operation, the agglomeration of sm ounties in North 
Wales and the Kast Lowlands tends to aintoey the positions of the 
numbers there, when each is allotted an area equal to the average. 
Ireland presents no difficulty as regards the same process. The 
average area of the forty Irish divisions proposed by — 4 
almost identical with the average in Great Britain, and the 
spective divisions exhibit no such extreme diversity of size as inks, 
for instance, between Flint Salop. 
we now eliminate the lines’ of the map and the system of 
squares, we have left a series of numerals arranged in horizontal 
