200 A Second Experiment in Ecological Surveying. 
constantly revealing themselves during the ordinary work of 
surveying, but it is not everyone that has the opportunity or the 
skill to undertake them. A good deal of scattered work in this field 
has of course been done by various botanists, whom it would be 
superfluous to name. One of the most important means of 
progress in these higher branches of ecology is undoubtedly the 
establishment of laboratories in regions exhibiting specialised types 
of vegetation. The most recent and one of the most notable 
examples of such a laboratory is the Desert Laboratory of the 
Carnegie Institution, established in November, 1903, near Tucson, 
Arizona, under the direction of Dr. Coville, whose researches on 
Desert vegetation, published in the Report of the Death Valley 
Expedition, are already well-known to ecologists. The Tucson 
laboratory site was chosen after a careful tour through the North 
American deserts by Drs. MacDougall and Coville. Not only the 
Director but visiting botanists able to make a stay, will work at the 
ecological relations of the desert flora. 
We have no deserts in the British Isles, but we have a fair 
range of climatic conditions and a very interesting set of 
“ edaphic ” plant formations. In the future we may perhaps hope 
to see various local stations established where experimental work 
may be carried on. 
A SECOND EXPERIMENT IN ECOLOGICAL SURVEYING. 
SHORT account was given in this journal (Vol. II., p. 167) of 
an attempt made in July, 1903 to study the vegetation of a 
given area by an expedition from the Botanical Department of 
University College, London, composed of the staff and a number 
of advanced students. 
That expedition was to the “Broad” district of East Norfolk, 
and was devoted partly to the magnificent fresh-water marsh- 
vegetation characteristic of the region and partly to the sand-dunes 
fringing the coast. Many difficulties were met with. The time 
available was scarcely long enough to map even a small typical area 
satisfactorily, and the difficulties of getting about on the deep marsh 
were considerable; while the fact that the locality chosen (Heigham 
Sound) is very strictly preserved led to some reluctance on the part 
of the owner in allowing access.to it. Nevertheless the expedition 
was certainly successful in many respects. Its members learned a 
great deal of the marsh plants and their habits, and some interesting 
data were obtained, which though not sufficiently complete to publish 
at present, it is hoped to extend and use at some future time. 
In the present year an expedition lasting a fortnight (Aug. 27th 
