Reviews and Book Notices. 



27 



The introductory chapters and maps have no connection 

 (except that g-iven by the bookbinder) with the body of the 

 Flora ; and one cannot but think that they are finishing- touches 

 thrown in on ' v^arnishing' day.' A concise summary of the 

 rainfall by an able specialist is ignored in the rest of the book, 

 even in the chapter on climate and species. Ten pages are 

 devoted to soils and species ; and this chapter with the two 

 maps appears to form the basis of the ' botanical divisions ' of 

 the county. The author considers it ' unnecessary to describe 

 the boundaries of the divisions, as they are sufficiently indicated 

 on the map.' We cannot find any boundaries on the map, and 

 endless confusion will arise in the field if these divisions are 

 used. Botanical divisions cannot be founded on a g-eological 

 rock-map, because the soil (which is the place where the plants 

 grow) is too often not the product of the underlying- rock. The 

 neglect of peat and other surface deposits has led the author 

 himself into many pitfalls. As a case in point, a list of species 

 said to be typical of the Millstone Grit is given (pp. 14-15), and 

 of these certain are said to be 'peculiar to it.' As a matter of 

 fact, many are neither typical of, nor peculiar to. Millstone Grit. 

 They are peat-loving- plants, and grow on peat, no matter 

 whether the underlying rock be Millstone Grit, as in Derbyshire, 

 or Mountain Limestone, as in Ireland, or Keuper Marls, as in 

 Somerset. This, indeed, is a serious blemish. The inclusion 

 of the so-called ' Yoredales ' with the Mountain Limestone in 

 a ' botanical division ' is unsound, as the plants of the ' Yore- 

 dales ' of Derbyshire are identical with those on the Millstone 

 Grit shales. It would have been much more useful to have 

 included the Permian with the Mountain Limestone, since the 

 differences between them are chiefly due to the lower altitude 

 and lower rainfall of the former as compared with the latter. 



The lists of species given as peculiar to the different rocks, 

 which fill four pages, are therefore unreliable, and in some cases 

 even contradicted by the localities quoted. The maps of 

 Derbyshire are not very helpful to botanists. Even altitudes are 

 not marked. If a vegetation map is not available, we suggest 

 a coloured half-inch-to-mile orographical map, reduced from the 

 Ordnance Survey maps, and issued by several publishers, as 

 more practical than a road map. The best pages of the Flora 

 are those on the extinct plants of the county, and on unrecorded 

 plants whose occurrence in neighbouring vice-counties suggests 

 their possible occurrence in Derbyshire. The literature relating 

 to the field botany of the county from 1640 is a very useful 



1904 January i. 



