510 Our Field Clubs : [Oct., 



off of his audience certainly did not arise from any mere geological 

 deficiencies. It is said that some who joined the Professor's class, 

 chiefly for the fun of the mounted excursion, afterwards became 

 eminent as geologists. 



It is, however, manifest that the successful working of a Field 

 Club must depend on the suitability of its plans to the circum- 

 stances of its position. Field Clubs commonly belong to one or the 

 other of two distinct classes. 1st. Such as occupy a wide field 

 extending over a large portion of a county, and include amongst 

 their members chiefly professional men, and men of independent 

 position. 2ndly. Such as are established in populous towns. 



To the former of these divisions belongs the Cotteswold Natu- 

 ralists' Field Club, of which we need only say that the intellectual 

 and genial character of its gatherings is such as to induce men of 

 eminence in science, even when residing in London, frequently to 

 attend its meetings. Its publications have not been issued regu- 

 larly, but are of the highest scientific value. 



The Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club has this year issued a 

 volume of transactions, which plainly indicates the Club to be in a 

 thriving and vigorous condition. The speciality of the work, 

 however, mainly consists in that portion of it which contains the 

 Flora of Herefordshire, edited by the Eev. W. H. Purchas. The 

 Flora is accompanied by a map of the county divided into fourteen 

 botanical districts: a schedule follows, pointing out the plants 

 found in each district. The editor modestly disclaims originality 

 in adopting this plan ; but we do not know that it has been carried 

 out with the same degree of completeness in any other county. 

 The difficulty of obtaining satisfactory reports from so many 

 districts must have been very great. 



We quote from the advertisement : — " It has of late years 

 been felt that a very imperfect view of the botany of any county 

 was given by the plan on which the older Floras were drawn up ; 

 that plan being to mention stations for the rarer plants, or those 

 supposed to be such, whilst it was left to be inferred that the re- 

 mainder were equally common throughout the whole area to which 

 the Flora related. The real truth being that species which, from 

 their frequency in one part of a county, might be expected to pre- 

 vail equally throughout its whole extent, are found, when specially 

 sought after, to be comparatively local." 



Whilst Field Clubs very rightly devote a good deal of attention 

 to the geographical distribution of plants, it may be remarked that 

 the geographical distribution of the Field Clubs themselves is a 

 subject worthy of notice. A map of England marked with the 

 stations of these Clubs would show them to be very unequally 

 distributed. A belt extending from Lancashire along the western 

 side of England to the south coast would include amongst others 



