448 



Reviews and Book Notices* 



such as woods on pasture lands, with a ground flora not charac- 

 teristic of typical woodland. 



A very suggestive table was given, in wnicn the woods were 

 arranged in two series : — (i) Calcareous, (2) Silicious. In the 

 low ground occurred the Alder and Willow thicket, then the 

 Damp Oak Wood on clays, with Querciis pedunculata as the 

 characteristic tree. From this, along the line of the Silicious 

 series, came the Dry Oak W^ood on light loamy and fine sand- 

 stone soils, and the Oak-hazel Coppice ; the Oak-birch-heath 

 type on coarse sands and shallow, non-calcareous soils. Beech 

 woods on shallow sandy soils, and Pine Woods naturally 

 spreading ; the three remaining types recognised in this series 

 are Oak Woods on shallow soils, with Quercus sessili flora as 

 the characteristic tree. Birch-oak Woods and Birch Woods. 



On the Calcareous side were the Damp Oak Woods on 

 Marls, and Oak-hazel Coppice ; the Ash-oak Woods, a tran- 

 sition type on Calcareous sandstones, etc. Ash Woods on 

 Limestones, and Beech Woods on Chalk. The reading of the 

 paper was followed by an interesting discussion. Among 

 other papers, the one by Prof. Yapp on ' Evaporation in 

 Relation to the Stratification of Marsh Vegetation," shewed 

 that a valuable series of careful observations is going on in 

 connection with his studies of the vegetation of Wicken Fen. 



The new botanical laboratories proved an ideal meeting 

 place, and Prof. Dixon spared no pains to make the visit a 

 success, while too much praise cannot be given to Mr. R. 

 Lloyd Praeger and his colleagues, for the admirable arrange- 

 ments they made for the excursions. 







Hull Museum Publication No. 55, being the 26th quarterly record 

 of additions, contains an illustrated list of over 130 old Staffordshire 

 tigures, an illustration and description of a rare Roman vase from Brough, 

 and some pre-historic remains from Middleton-on-the-Wolds (with plate). 

 There is a paper on ' Hull and District 150 years ago,' and numerous 

 shorter notes. It is sold by A. Brown & Sons, Hull, at one penny. 



The Annual Report and Transactions, 1907, of the Manchester 

 Microscopical Society (published 1908) is to hand. It contains the 

 Presidential Address of Professor S. J. Hickson, F.R.S., on ' The Physical 

 Basis of Hereditary Characters.' There are also papers on ' Mimicry in 

 Nature,' by H. G. Willis ; ' A few notes on the Heterokontae,' by C. Turner ; 

 ' Notes on the Development of the Male Fern,' by A. P. Bradshaw ; ' On 

 the occurrence of wool-like hairs on the cow,' by J. E. Lord ; ' The Polyzoa 

 — their place in Nature, with notes on some peculiarities in structure,' 

 by J. Smith ; ' Destruction of Oak and Greenheart Timber by " Sea 

 Worms " ' by J. Eastwood ; and a good paper on ' House Flies,' by C. G. 

 Hewitt. There are some plates, and the volume is very cheap at eighteen- 

 pence. 



Naturalist, 



