Phytogeographical Excursion in the British Isles, i 79 
of the moor practically, as well as ecologically. One must believe 
that research is of value only as it broadens and deepens the 
current of human progress, and that no one should be so well 
qualified to apply the results of investigation as the man who 
obtained them. 
To one sceptical as to the influence of lime, the results of the 
Excursion were most interesting. One could not fail to be 
impressed with the abundant evidences of the distributional signi¬ 
ficance of lime, while he was struck by the fact that scarcely a 
single *• calciphilous ” or “ calciphobous ” plant could prove a clear 
title to the term, physiologically. It is useless to add a single line 
to the literary solution of this hoary problem, but the British 
experience serves to emphasize the conviction that nothing but 
physiological and competition studies in the field can hope to lead 
us to a final solution. 
Without doubt, the greatest personal return from the Ex¬ 
cursion was the first-hand insight into the point of view of 
ecologists from different countries, and the chance thus afforded 
of scrutinizing one’s own concepts in the light obtained. This must 
be more and more the real value to be derived from such expe¬ 
riences, if they are to give more than individual benefits, as they 
will. Botanists, like all scientists, are still so highly individualized 
that they have little sympathy or patience with anything which 
looks toward definite and effective co-operation. This would seem 
to be merely an intermediate stage, and we can hope for the time 
when the ecologists of many countries will work together with 
something of the unity and efficiency which characterize the British 
Vegetation Committee. 
