Page:Journal of botany, British and foreign, Volume 34 (1896).djvu/431

401 NOTICES OF BOOKS. The Flora of Dumfriesshire, including part of the Stewartry of Kirk- cudbright. By G. F. Scott-Elliot, M.A., F.L.S. Dumfries: Maxwell. 8vo, p'p. xl, 219, map. A Flora of a Scottish county is a welcome sight, if only on account of its rarity. Considering the number of botanists which Scotland has produced, it is remarkable how few contributions have been made to our knowledge of the plants of the country, apart from its rare species. It is hardly too much to say that no Scottish county flora of marked excellence has yet appeared. It was hoped that Dr. Buchanan White's Perthshire Flora would set an example; but his lamented death has prevented, though we trust only for a time, the carrying out of this work. Meanwhile Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot (who, we note, has recently, following the example of other great men, taken to himself a hyphen) has published a flora of his native county which, although by no means of first-rate or even second-rate excellence, as measured by the standard of English works of the kind, brings together a good deal of scattered information, and will form a basis for future workers. Mr. Elliot has added one new feature in the recording of insect visitors : "the catching of these," he says, "has probably occupied more than nine-tenths of the time which I have spent on the work," and he has "attempted to give an idea of the more common visitors of about 270 species." The earlier portions of the book originally appeared as separate issues, to which we referred in these pages {Journ. Bot. 1891, 383 ; 1893, 96). The complete work only strengthens the opinion we then formed, that Mr. Elliot is not in his element when he under- takes a local flora. To do this satisfactorily, an intimate knowledge of British plants and their literature, a diligent personal search throughout the district, and a careful collation and sifting of authorities are required : while to produce a satisfactory book care in proof-reading and attention to suitable arrangements of type are absolutely necessary. So far as we can judge from this Flora, Mr. Elliot possesses these qualifications only in a limited" degree. We fail to find a single observation, apart from generalities, bearing on the life-history of any species, although in the earlier portion of the book a good deal of care has been taken in describing the habitats ; the grouping of forms is carried out in a way which we do not understand; and there is no evidence of any attempt to verify the accuracy of many of the authorities for certain localities. Everyone who has had anything to do with the compilation of local floras knows what extraordinary blunders are made by well-meaning but ignorant correspondents ; and Dumfriesshire must be blessed with more than its share of trustworthy observers if the long list enumerated by Mr. Elliot is entirely composed of them. The author, however,, thinks that (with one exception) "it may be considered certain that the records are entirely correct " ; and no doubt he has reasons for this opinion.