236 THE JOURNAL OF BOTAN-V 



Miss Peck, apparently the first notice in this country. Cyperus 

 longus is now lost to Somerset ; but there may still be hope of its 

 discovery in some new station, as has actually been the case with 

 Scirpus Holosclioenus. An example of Mr. White's accurate observa- 

 tion is furnished by the case of Carex axillaris (though others 

 must have seen the same thing, it does not appear to have been 

 recorded) : — " A curious feature of this hybrid deserves attention. 

 While both vulpina and remota are stiff enough to stand erect 

 until they wither, the much longer stems of axillaris are too 

 weak to sustain their heads, and so bend over to the ground 

 until the panicles rest upon and are hidden among the adjacent 

 herbage." C. depauj^erata, not observed at Axbridge for about 

 half a century, and believed to be lost, was refound by Mr. Pugsley 

 last year. There is a lucid note on the status, habitat, and 

 characters of Serrafalcus (Bromus) racemostos, which fully con- 

 firms our own experience. 



Such examples could be multiplied, if space permitted; but 

 enough has been said to shew that this work reaches a very 

 high standard. Mr. White deserves the hearty thanks of his 

 botanical colleagues, and the Bristol Flora should have a large 

 sale. It is free from display and all suspicion of "fine writing," 

 and illustrates the saying that "le style, c'est I'homme." 



Edward S. Marshall. 



The " History of Bristol Botany," which occupies pp. 44-100 

 of Mr. White's Flora, is so admirable an example of how such 

 things should be done that I have asked Mr. Marshall to allow 

 me to add a few words calling special attention to it. Mr. White 

 modestly says that " it may be considered that parts of this are 

 irrelevant and beside the mark," but to my mind the most striking 

 merit of his treatment is its entire relevance to the botany of the 

 district. The older authors have been carefully examined from 

 this point of view, and although botanists will not think the by 

 no means " dull tale " of the Bristol Flora is in need of relief, as 

 Mr. White suggests, it must be admitted that he has made his 

 biographies interesting even to the general reader — the sketch of 

 Banks (pp. 67-71) and that of T. B. Flower (pp. 88-91) are ex- 

 cellent examples. Of the more recent Bristol botanists, whose 

 history, curiously enough, is often more obscure than that of the 

 earlier, I find information which will be valuable for the new 

 edition of the Biographical Index of British Botanists. 



I note that Mr. White still attributes the transcript of Light- 

 foot's Journal preserved in the Department of Botany to Solander ; 

 a belief of so long standing is not easily set aside, but a reference 

 to this Journal for 1911 (p. 92) will show that this must be 

 assigned to Sigismund Bacstrom, an employe of Banks. The 

 note on p. 696 which modifies the statement (p. 67) as to Arthur 

 Broughton's collections is likely to be overlooked, and indeed as 

 it stands is hardly accurrate. Broughton's Jamaica collections 

 have been lent to the Department of Botany for consultation for 

 Messrs. Fawcett & Eendle's flora of that island, and will probably 



