DER EINFLUSS DES KLIMAS 307 



gathered on that range last September, and which is now being 

 examined by Dr. Domin. It belongs to the gracilis section, and is 

 not the common British form. — G. Claridge Druce. 



# 



Schcenus nigricans L. — It may be of interest to report that 

 in July 1906 this plant was found by me between Clevedon and 

 Portishead, whence it was recorded in 1842. It is of rare occur- 

 rence in Somerset, and has long been supposed to be extinct in 

 the above locality. — Mary A. G. Livett. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Der Einfluss des Klimas anf den Bait der Pflanzengcwcbe. Von 



Dr. Carl Holtermann. Pp. 214, 16 plates. Leipzig : 

 W. Engelmann. Price 12 marks. 



This work, extending to 244 pages, will be somewhat of a dis- 

 appointment to him who purchases it in the expectation of reading 

 a general account of the effect of climate upon plant- structure, 

 and even the sub-title " Anatomisch-Physiologische Untersuchungen 

 in den Tropen " will not prepare the reader for the fact that the 

 book almost exclusively deals with the results of some observations 

 made in Ceylon. 



Prof. Holtermann has evidently imitated A. F. W. Schimper's 

 style of work and drawn largely upon that botanist's ideas, 

 but hardly with success or adequate appreciation. Schimper had 

 an artist's gift of setting forth the main facts of his case to pro- 

 duce a bold and true picture, and of avoiding excessive detail. But 

 in attempting the same method Prof. Holtermann seems to mis- 

 take important points for trivial details ; for instance, after attack- 

 ing Schimper's view that the vegetation near the sulphur springs 

 of Java are xerophytic, he states that the amount of salts present 

 is often insufficient to evoke xerophily, that analyses of the various 

 springs are presumably in existence, and that the chemical compo- 

 sition of the fumaroles is not such as to evoke protective devices 

 against transpiration. Yet he gives no convincing illustrations, 

 on analyses of the soil, and no evidence against the quite probable 

 possibility that minute doses of sulphur dioxide can evoke xero- 

 phily. Again, he makes the interesting statement that a detached 

 shoot of Oyanotis fascicular is, when laid on a table, gradually 

 withered during the day, but recovered its fresh appearance and 

 turgidity during the night. From this he concludes that the 

 shoot absorbed dew. Yet there is no evidence supplied that the 

 shoot increased in weight during the night, nor that the regained 

 turgescence was not due to mere transference of water from the 

 aqueous tissue to the green cells, nor that there are any cells 

 capable of absorbing dew. Later on, Prof. Holtermann goes on to 

 say that in Ceylon there are various plants possessing aqueous 

 tissue, and having a power of absorbing dew and of thus gaining in 

 weight. The proof of the prevalence of such a widespread utiliza- 

 tion of dew would have been a notable addition to our knowledge 



