NOTES AND ABSTRACTS. 
491 
Euonymus Bungeanus {Bot. Mag. t. 8656). — Manchuria and N. China. 
Nat. Ord. Celastraceae, tribe Celastreae. Shrub or small tree, 1 5 feet high. Leaves 
elliptic, blade tapering below and acute. Flowers tetramerous, f inch across. 
Fruit 4-lobed, pale rose. Seeds dull rose. Aril bright red. — G. H. 
Euonymus oxyphyllus (Bot. Mag. t. 8639). — Japan and Corea. Nat. Ord. 
Celastraceae, tribe Celastreae. Shrub or small tree, 25 feet high. Leaves pseudo- 
distichous, 3 inches long. Flowers greenish-yellow, \ inch across, forming 
loose panicles. Fruit carmine, depressed-globose, 3-4 seeded. Seeds with 
scarlet arillus. — G. H. 
Euphorbia Caput-Medusae {Bot. Mag. t. 8673). — South Africa. Nat. Ord. 
Euphorbiaceae , tribe Euphorbieae. Shrub, dwarf, succulent stems, a sub- 
globose mass, 6-8 inches high ; central 2-4 inches long, the outer spreading 
6-18 inches. Involucre \ inch across, tawny-purple, glands green, appendages 
petaloid, white. — G. H. 
Evolution of Species in Ceylon, with reference to the Dying Out of Species. 
By J. C. Willis (Ann. Bot., Jan. 1916, vol. xxx. no. cxviii ; and figs.). — In this 
paper, which is a continuation of others, the opinion is brought forward that 
the theory of Natural Selection is untenable as regards geographical dis- 
tribution of species or the areas they occupy, and that the area occupied at 
any given time in any given country depends mainly on the age of the species 
in that country (not its absolute age). The species of all genera examined 
are classed as Very Common, Rather Common, Common, Rather Rare, 
Rare, and Very Rare, and tables of statistics are given to show that the 
figures of rarity are nearly always approximate, whether they belong to the 
endemic species of Ceylon, or those of Peninsular India or those of wider dis- 
tribution. This points to an underlying cause, viz. age, which is found to act 
with equal pressure on every family (where the species are twenty or over), and — 
a posteriori — if it applies to the above it will apply to flora in general. 
It is maintained that the endemic species are the youngest, and of these the 
very rare the most recent, and that the figures of distribution of the Ceylon 
plants give no reason to suppose that any angiospermous species are dying out 
at the present time, which supposition is borne out by a comparison of the floras 
of Ceylon, Java, and Rio de Janeiro. — G. D. L. 
Fatsia japonica (Bot. Mag. t. 8638). — Japan. Nat. Ord. Araliaceae, tribe 
Panaceae. Shrub, 3-13 feet. Leaves 7-9-lobed, 5-12 inches wide. Inflores- 
cence of globose umbels, 2 inches across. Flowers, T \ inch across, white. Fruit 
globose. — G. H. 
Fig Canker, caused by Phoma cinerescens. By E. S. Salmon and H. Wormald 
(Ann. Appl. Biol. iii. p. 1, June 1916; figs.). — The canker of figs has been attri- 
buted to Libertella ulcer ata Massee. The authors failed to find a fungus agreeing 
with the description of that species, but isolated Phoma cinerescens from all the 
specimens examined and proved by inoculation that the disease was produced 
by that fungus. The authors recommend the cutting out and burning of the 
cankered parts of the stems down to sound wood, and the painting of the wounds 
with Stockholm tar. Wounds made in pruning should also be painted over. 
F. J. C. 
Fire-blight Bacteria, Role of Insects in the Dissemination of. By V. 
B. Stewart and M. D. Leonard (Phytopathology, vi. pp. 152-158, April 1916). 
Sucking insects (as distinct from piercing) apparently do little in disseminating 
the fire-blight organism (Bacillus amylovorus), although they freely feed upon the 
exudations from diseased tissues. This, no doubt, results from the fact that 
infection takes place only through punctures in the tissues. — F . J. C. 
Flooded Fenland, Some Observations on the Flora and Fauna of. By 
F. R. Petherbridge (Jour. Agr. Sci. vol. viii. pt. 4, pp. 508-511 ; pi. 2). — 
Thousands of acres of Fenland were flooded by the bursting of the Little Ouse 
through its bank at a point near Feltwell Pumping Station in January 191 5. 
The land was pumped clear of water by September, and the observations were 
made on a portion of the flooded area, free from silt, in December of that year. 
This portion was then covered completely with a mat, one inch thick, of the 
carpet alga (Cladophora flavescens), which made ploughing a difficult operation ; 
Polygonum amphibium was also very abundant. Lists are given of all the plants 
found both on the arable and the grass land. In the gardens all vegetables 
