174 



Xor//icr)i Xcivs. 



gives a complete account of our present knowledge ui)on the 

 post-glacial history of vegetation in Northern Switzerland. 



The history of cultivated plants has also received consider- 

 able and detailed attention. The papers deserving special men- 

 tion are : — Oswald Heer, in 1S47 ^^I'ote a history of Swiss agricul- 

 ture, and later, T. Schlatter (1892-1896, F. H., 138). wrote 

 a more detailed study of the cultivated plants of St' 

 Gallen and Appenzell. These dealt with the former distrilnition 

 of forests, former cultivation of cereals, vine, etc. 



Hartwich (1893), deals with the cultivation of medicinal 

 plants. Walser (1896, F. H.. 141), chscusses the changes that 

 have occurred in lakes, forests, and vine cultivation since 

 1677. The sites of former lake dwellings have been carefully 

 explored, and the results recorded in many interesting papers. 

 The more important are by Heer (1861-4-5, F. H., 191), Uhl- 

 mann, (1875. F. H., 191), Schroter, (1894, F. H., 191), Hart- 

 wich, (1889, F. H., 192), and Neuweiler.* This latter paper 

 contains a critical enumeration of all the wild and cultivated 

 plants (except wheat, barle}^ and r^^e), of which there are 

 pre-historic remains, giving in all 220 species. 



Ecological Studies of the Alpine Flora are very numerous. 

 Heer (1883, F. H., 85), Schroter, Christ, Keller (1887, F. H., 

 192), Briquet, Leist (1890, F. H., 193), Fisch (1889, F. H., 

 192), Biihler, Imhof. Vogler, and Oettli are a few of the names 

 that may be mentioned in this connection. Schroter's recently 

 completed ' Pfianzenleben der .\lpen,' (Zurich, 1904-7) brings 

 together, in an eminently readable form, from a ver}" extensive 

 hterature as well as from his own life-long observations, all the 

 interesting details as to habit, structure, and adaptations of 

 plant life in the Alps. It is by far the most important work 

 w^hich has yet appeared on the subject, and it is to be hoped 

 that an English translation will soon be forthcoming. 



{To be contimied). 

 ♦ » 



The third International Congress of botanists will be held at Brussels 

 irom May 14th to May 22nd; 1910. 



In ' The Museum News ' (Brooklyn. X. Y.), for April, is an article on 

 the Giant Stork, or Jabiru, in which the tenacity of life of the bird is 

 referred to. The writer has personal knowledge of an instance where one 

 of these birds, after being hit with a soft-nosed 8 mm. bullet from a mauser 

 rifle which literally tore one half of the body from the bird, took wing and 

 flew for a distance of almost a mile before finally dropping lifeless to the 

 ground. It was in Amerrica. 



* E. Neuweiler, ' Die prahistorischen Pflanzenreste ^litteleuropas,' 

 Vierteljahrs. d. naturforsch. Ges. Ziirich, 1905. 



Naturalist, 



