290 
A. G. Tansley. 
wood, but no positive results are as yet forthcoming on this point. 
After tea at Ditcham House the party were driven back to Rowland’s 
Castle and took train to Portsmouth. This excellent and extremely 
pleasant excursion, which was made possible through the kindness 
of Mr. and Mrs. Cave, formed a brilliant wind-up to the expedition : 
on the next day there was a general dispersal of the members of the 
party. 
So far as the carrying out of the programme was concerned, 
the whole excursion worked very smoothly, thanks mainly to careful 
organisation beforehand. The people responsible for the different 
sections of the tour made all the local arrangements for hotels, 
driving, etc. The General Manager of the Midland Railway made 
the railway arrangements, the necessary accommodation being in 
most cases reserved for the party by the different companies. In 
Ireland there was a reserved double saloon on the Midland and 
Great Western, and a reserved coach on the Great Southern and 
Western, while the London and South Western Railway provided 
a through coach from Exeter to Portsmouth. The party had very 
great luck in being away from the centres affected by the railway 
strike during the continuance of the strike. The only hitch that 
occurred was the loss of some luggage for about a fortnight. It 
was eventually found and restored to the owners, though with some 
damage. 
The weather was hot and dry throughout, except during three 
days in Ireland. The health of the party was excellent, scarcely a 
single member being indisposed during the whole five weeks. In 
spite of the strenuous nature of the tour everyone was perfectly fit 
and well at its close, and ready to begin all over again. A more 
amiable and harmonious party, a set of people easier to deal 
with, more anxious to be pleased and to make the best of everything, 
can hardly be imagined. There was absolutely no friction of any 
kind whatever, and many old friendships have been strengthened 
and new ones formed. 
With regard to the scientific results, floristically the tour was a 
decided success. The long companionship in the field of continental 
and British field botanists could not avoid giving to both clearer 
ideas of critical species, and incidentally several species and varieties 
new to Britain were discovered. For details Mr. Druce’s paper in 
the next issue of this journal should be consulted. In regard to 
the conceptions of units of vegetation, opportunities such as these 
