196 Alpine and Sub-Alpine Plants. 
The descriptions are clear and concise and not overburdened 
with technical terms: a glossary is added for the use of the 
non-botanical reader. The importance of full descriptions of the 
habitats and distribution of the different species is very great, and 
has been fully recognised by the author. The species which occur 
in Britain are so noted, but not in quite all cases. It would have 
added considerably to ease of reference and the value of the 
comparison if the allusion to Britain had been given uniformly 
throughout with the addition of the distribution of the species 
within the British Isles where this is of interest: e.g Epilobium 
augustifolium, British (general); Sedum album, British ? (rare, 
perhaps alien); Saxifraga tridactylites, British (general); S.stellaris, 
British (mountain); and so on. It is not clear why the nativity of 
the Yew in the British Isles should be doubted. 
The coloured plates in Alpine Plants of Europe are taken from 
Seboth’s book, which was translated into English by the late 
A. W. Bennett some years ago, and of which the copyright has, 
we understand, passed into Messrs. Routledge’s hands. They are 
of varying merit, but on the whole good. Subalpine Plants is 
illustrated by Mr. Flemwell, some of whose drawings are of 
remarkable truth and beauty. The sprays of different plants, 
three or four or more of which are represented on each plate, are, 
however, sometimes rather irritatingly mixed up, and a wide space 
is wasted in margin, so that the reduction of the drawings (to 
4-7ths natural size) is unnecessarily great, and in the case of the 
smaller plants a serious defect. 
Mr. Thompson’s books are primarily intended, no doubt, for 
the tourist who knows something of field-botany and classification : 
the pure novice would find it difficult to use a systematically 
arranged book, and to such a one Schrdter’s Tascliendora des 
Alpenwanderers may be recommended for the first week or fortnight, 
at least. On the other hand, the serious student naturally buys 
the best available flora of the country or region he visits, in which 
he may be sure of finding the most complete information and the 
results of the latest work. But for the large class of readers who 
come between these two, Mr. Thompson’s books may be cordially 
recommended. Nor will they be without use for the advanced 
student, owing to the inclusion of Pyrenean and other high 
mountain plants, and to the wide personal knowledge of species in 
the field which the author possesses—perhaps, as regards western 
Europe, to a greater degree than any other English botanist. 
We are glad to hear that Mr. Thompson is preparing a 
somewhat similar work on the Plants of the Riviera, which will 
bear the same relation to Penzig’s excellent little Flora de poche du 
Littoral Mediterraneen as the books under review bear to Schrdter’s 
Taschenjlora des Alpenwanderers. 
A.G.T . 
