298 



SCIENCE, 



[\^OL. VL, No. 139. 



survives, — the pheiiogamous part of it in only 

 thirty-four species, — partl}^ at some favored 

 points near the sea, raainl}^ in the higher and 

 less accessible interior portions of the island. 

 Of two or three of the trees or shrubs, only 

 single specimens are known ; while of the red- 

 wood (Melhania erythroxylon, congener of the 

 lost ebony, and no less valuable for the hard 

 and durable mahogan}'- colored wood) , which 

 formerl}^ abounded, onl^' two indigenous trees 

 survive, and hardly over a dozen planted ones. 



Turning to the Bermudas, — the botan^^ of 

 which is exhaustively treated in the earl}^ part 

 of the present volume, and, indeed, for the first 

 time, — we have another example of the com- 

 mon fate of the aboriginal vegetation of small 

 islands in low latitudes whenever opened to 

 immigration. From the cultivated grounds, 

 the indigenous vegetation is of course swept 

 awa}^ : the uncultivated ground is covered with 

 lantanas (here called sage-bushes) from the 

 West Indies, and with oleanders from the Old 

 World ; also with an assortment of herbaceous 

 vreeds, some of American, but more of Euro- 

 pean, origin. The three shrubs above men- 

 tioned are said to cover more ground than all 

 the native woody species put together. Yet 

 the oleander was brought in onl}^ sevent}' 3'ears 

 ago, the lantanas twenty or thirt}' years earlier. 



But the change in Bermuda vegetation un- 

 der human agenc}' is b}^ no means so striking 

 and so pitiful as that which has happened to 

 St. Helena. No peculiar t3'pe, and, it ma}' be 

 presumed, no species whatever, has here been 

 extirpated. And that, because the Bermudas 

 have no peculiar types, and probabl}' never had 

 an}' ; and it is not improbable that the three or 

 four species reckoned as peculiar ma}' exist else- 

 where. No genus, and hardly a well-marked 

 species, would be lost if these little islands were 

 submerged. Indeed, St. Helena and the Ber- 

 mudas well represent the two classes of islands, 

 the differences of which our author well de- 

 scribes. The first is an oceanic island, far 

 separated by broad and deep seas from all con- 

 tinental land : its flora, therefore, in the main 

 very peculiar and ancient, and the source of it 

 wholly conjectural. Bermuda is of the con- 

 tinental class, is near to South America and the 

 West Indies, from which it has obviously re- 

 ceived its plants, and at a comparatively recent 

 period. Like all such islands, its indigenous 

 vegetation is meagre in kinds ; and while ' the 

 things themselves are neither rich nor rare,' it 

 is not diflicult to guess whence they came, and 

 how they got there. 



"The one striking feature in the softly un- 

 dulating landscape is the ubiquitous cedar, re- 



lieved here and there by clusters and isolated 

 individuals of t'le palmetto." These are, in- 

 deed, the only indigenous trees in Bermuda. 

 The palm (Sabal Blackburniana) is counted 

 as endemic, yet with doubt whether it is not 

 also West Indian. Its botanical history is 

 curious, and is well worked out in this report ; 

 and so likewise of the cedar (Juniperus Ber- 

 mudiana), which is also West Indian, and is 

 very near to our common red cedar. Both 

 trees appear to be in no danger of eradication ; 

 for they seed abundantly, and germinate freely. 



The other insular floras, of which this vol- 

 ume collects and discusses the existing mate- 

 rials, are mainly those of Fernando de Noron- 

 ha. Ascension, the Tristan da Cunha group, 

 the Crozets and Kerguelen Island in the South 

 Atlantic and Southern Oceans, Juan Fernandez 

 and the adjacent Masafuera, near Chili, the 

 South-eastern Moluccas, and the Admiralty 

 Islands. Of all these, the historical and bib- 

 liographical data are carefully worked up, and 

 the bearings of the facts upon the problems of 

 distribution briefly indicated. 



The appendix, on the dispersal of plants by 

 oceanic currents and birds, is a full compila- 

 tion of what is known respecting such disper- 

 sion, — at least, for the regions with which 

 these reports are concerned. A list of plants, 

 certainly or probably disj^ersed by oceanic cur- 

 rents, is given on pp. 42-44 of the Introduction. 

 This introductory essay upon the characteris- 

 tics of insular floras, with an analysis of some 

 of them, is, perhaps, the most widely inter- 

 esting portion of the volume. Mr. Hemsley 

 tells us of his hopes, that Sir Joseph Hooker 

 would have undertaken this ; but his multifari- 

 ous duties rendered it impracticable for him 

 now to address himself to this subject, which 

 he has formerly discussed in the most masterly 

 way, and with the advantage of the largest 

 personal experience. The actual author, 

 although new to the field, has made a credit- 

 able essay. A. 0. 



SOME WORKS ON GEOLOGY AND 

 GEOGRAPHY. 



The early issue of a second edition of 

 Geikie's Geology bears witness to the success 

 of this excellent work. The author's preface 

 states that it has been thoroughly revised, and 

 that by abridgment when possible, and by use 

 of a different type from that of the first edition, 



Text-book of geology. By Akchieald Geikie. Second edi- 

 tion, revised and enlarged. London, 1885. 



Physikalische geographie von Griechenland mit hesondere 

 riicksicht auf das alterthnm. By Dr. C. Nkumann and Dr. 

 J. Partsch. Breslau, Koebner, 1885. 476 p. 8°. 



