4 
The Irish Naturalist, 
January, 
these identical types last season prevalent in the west and 
north of Scotland. 
Dr. Pethybridge showed 6-inch vegetation maps of the coast 
from Dublin to Rogerstown, and described especially the 
zones of the salt-marsh and sand-dune vegetation of that 
region. In the discussion which followed, A. G. Tansley re- 
ferred to the vegetation of an estuary in Brittany, where he and 
Prof. Oliver had worked last summer. The mode of formation 
of the numerous " pans " or muddy hollows was discussed, and 
also the distribution in detail of the leading plants. 
F. J. Lewis followed with a most interesting account of the 
investigations into the peat-bogs of Scotland. He finds that 
on the southern uplands, 800-1200 feet, the following succession 
of beds recurs constantly : — 
1. Recent peat. 
2. Scots Pine, or Birch {B. alba), with Ling. 
3. Sphagnum peat. 
4. Cotton-grass. 
5. Arctic plants (Salix reticulata, S. herdacea, Loiseluria 
procuinberis, with much Enipetrum.) 
6 Cotton-grass. 
7. Sphagnum peat. 
8. Birch {B. alba), with Ling. 
The last three zones are inter-glacial : that is, they underlie 
the plants of the last phase of arctic condition, and rest on 
glacial drift. In the Highlands, owing to ice having covered 
the ground, the beds under the arctic plant zone are missing, 
and the succession, in Inverness for instance, is : — 
1. Recent peat. 
2. Scots Pine. 
3. Sphagnum peat. 
4. Birch (B. alba.) 
5. Empetrum. 
6. Betula nana. 
7. Salix ? sp. (alpine or arctic.) 
An excellent discussion followed on various points raised, 
and Mr. Lewis was highly complimented on the completeness 
of his investigation. 1 
^ The first part of Mr. I^ewis's results has been recently published, 
Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb., vol. xli., no. 28, 1905. 
