664 The American Naturalist. [July, 
BOTANY. 
The Plants of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Grand Cay- 
man.—Professor A. S. Hitchcock’s paper on this subject, which 
appeared in the Fourth Annual Report of the Missouri Botanical 
Garden, is very interesting, inasmuch as it not only catalogues a large 
number of species, but in addition discusses at some length some of the 
problems connected with insular floras. The following are some of the 
author's conclusions. 
“ It would seem to the writer that the ordinary methods of dissem- 
ination would account for the flora of the Bahama Islands without 
calling in the aid of hypotheses founded on ancient land connection. 
There are probably no more endemic species than would be found if 
all the islands were at present connected. It seems hardly reasonable 
to suppose that Watling’s, Crooked Island or Inagua have ever been 
connected with Cuba or any of the other islands, yet the flora of these 
have about the same relation to Cuba as do the islands of the Bahama 
bank. From the table it will be seen that the flora comes from the 
south, that it is essentially Cuban and that this flora has also estab- 
lished itself in the extreme southern part of Florida, where it is found 
only on the most recent formations. Climatic conditions undoubtedly 
prevent any great extension to the north, but most of the plants would 
probably extend further north than they do, were they not brought 
into competition with an established flora. On the other hand very 
few plants from the Southern States have found their way to the 
Bahamas, and those that have are mostly such as are of wide dis- 
tribution in the Tropics and hence just as probably came from the 
south as from Florida. 
* Again, the facilities for distribution, the ocean currents and the 
prevailing winds, are from the south to the north. The Gulf Stream 
not only tends to bring plants from the south but quite effectually pre- 
vents any from drifting from Florida to the Bahamas. The current is so 
strong that the occasional northers would be more than counteracted, 
whilethe easterly winds are favored. What is true of the Gulf Stream 
to the west of the Bahamas is also true of the Equatorial Current to 
the east. Distribution by birds is apparently of little importance or 
we should find more plants with pulpy fruits brought from Florida. 
Maritime plants are easily distributed by currents as their seeds are 
. mot injured by the salt water, and furthermore, as stated by Hemsley 
