ioo The British Vegetation Committee. 
workers and to become acquainted with methods and outlooks. In 
practice, the associate-member lias at his disposal all the pleasant parts 
of each meeting—discussions, communications, and excursions,— 
whereas he has not to endure the necessary and often less interesting 
“ business ” unavoidable in any organisation. Through the inclusion 
of associate-members the Committee has increased in numbers, and 
the presence of enthusiastic recruits with all the advantages of the 
more modern ecological outlook in Botany is good for all. On the 
other hand changes have necessitated the resignation of four 
members (three of them original) who have now transferred their 
activities to other branches of work. If the Committee is still to 
retain its original object—to promote the active study of British 
Vegetation—such partings are inevitable, however much one 
personally regrets them. 
International Phytogeographical Excursion, 1911. 
The importance of this event may be summed up in a remark 
overheard by the writer, that if the Committee had done nothing 
else its existence would have been justified by the promotion of the 
Excursion of August, 1911 and the publication of “ Types of British 
Vegetation ” as an outcome of the Excursion project. The fact 
accomplished has been summed up by one veteran foreign member 
of the party: “our Britannic tour was a splendid success.” It is 
unnecessary here to enter into details, as these have already been 
given in this journal from the itinerant aspect (N.P., X, pp. 271 — 
291) and from the aspect of fioristic results (N.P., X, pp. 306— 
328). The majority of the members of the Committee joined the 
excursion at one stage or another, and the Committee as a whole 
must have benefited considerably, directly through hearing the 
opinion of leading ecologists from other lands on types of vege¬ 
tation underfoot or overhead, indirectly through the bond of 
comradeship thus instituted for the future. The organisation of 
such an excursion can only be appreciated by those who take some 
part in it, and most of the members did so. When success comes 
to such a scheme, it is generally due to the one or to the few who 
undertake the arrangement of the multitudinous detail involved. 
The existence of the Committee made it possible to spread the 
work over a fair number of individuals, but the real weight fell 
mainly on one, and at the most recent meeting the usually 
informal evening meal became a function with speeches which con¬ 
veyed to the leader of the I.P.E. the Committee’s expression of 
appreciation of a good thing well done. 
Ordinary Excursions. 
Less ambitious excursions have been a prominent feature, 
especially of the spring meetings. In April, 1910, from London, an 
excursion was made from Oxted to Westerham on the borders of 
Kent and Surrey, mainly for the observation of the woodland types, 
beechwoods on the chalk escarpment being strongly contrasted with 
the oakwoods on “clay with flints.” A few days before Christmas, 
1910, excellent weather conditions were obtained for an examination 
of the sand-dune vegetation at Southport and so far as the winter 
phase and the distribution of associations were concerned, the 
