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remote knowledge of the South African flora can perceive what 

 marvels in beauty of form and colour the Land of thousands of 

 Ericaceaes, Irideaes, and Amaryllideaes can bring forward. The 

 nature of the soil, moisture, and atmosphere here all help to pre- 

 serve the colour of dried plants, so that the specimens look as gaudy 

 as so many butterflies, and in shapeliness, colour, lovely forms, 

 grace, and material interest they will surpass all other floras of the 

 world. Not unlike in the flora of the Alps, the largest number of 

 species are each confined to a very small locality, in a great number 

 of instances so small that a wilful hand could with little labour and 

 trouble root them out and make them disappear from the face of 

 the earth. Very remarkable is the miniature flora, consisting of 

 thousands of species not above an inch high, many of them almost 

 microscopical; and the almost complete absence of trees." 



The Kern Bulletin dated "October and November, 1893," but 

 issued in January, contains a reprint from an Indian Government 

 paper of an account of Mr. G. A. Gammie's botanical tour in Sikkim 

 in 1892. It is followed by an interesting letter from Sir Joseph 

 Hooker, who states his opinion that " Sikkim, for its area, presents 

 one of the richest, if not the richest, botanical regions on the globe. 

 Though no more than about forty miles from east to west, and a 

 hundred from north to south, and situated beyond the northern 

 tropic, I believe that, when all that is known of its vegetation shall 

 have been brought together, it will prove to be a better microcosm 

 of the flora of the globe than any other area of equal or even of 

 much larger dimensions. Thus, in its alpine region, the floras of 

 the European, Siberian, Chinese, and American mountains are all 

 richly represented, and there also are found the principal types of 

 the steppe and desert vegetations of Tibet and Central Asia. In its 

 temperate region European genera abound in species in greater 

 numbers than they do further west in the Himalaya, or probably 

 than they do further east in the same range, where different 

 climatic features prevail; and in the same region types of Chinese, 

 , and North American (both eastern and western) genera 

 'isappear in advancing toward the 

 the tropical region the Malayan 

 flora disputes precedence with those of the plains and lower hills 

 of the Indian continent, Burma, and Ceylon, as represented by 

 genera and species, many of which are also characteristic of tropical 

 Africa. In short, with the exception of the prevalent types of the 

 Australian, South African, and South American floras, there are 

 few others that do not meet the eye of the wanderer in Sikkim." 



News sometimes travels slowly. Nature for Jan. 18 announces 

 that "the first part is published of Dr. H. Trimen's Handbook to 

 the Flora of Ceylon." This is true, but by no means new, seeing 

 that the work in question was issued last May ! 



At the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday, 

 Jan. 15th, Dr. J. W. Gregory gave an account of his recent 

 exploration of Mount Kenia. Mr. Carruthers, after complimenting 

 Dr. Gregory on the success of his arduous undertaking, gave a 



