A HISTORY OF CORNWALL five parts a ' Flora of Devon and Cornwall.' The effort was a very am- bitious one, but while in many respects a valuable piece of work it was marred by grave defects. Intended as a guide to the flora of both counties, it gives only a few localities for each plant, and while showing some acquaintance with the writings of older botanists, it omits men- tion of many valuable records. Briggs' Flora of Plymouth on the other hand is the work of a man who is careful, thorough, methodical, and trustworthy. It deals only with that portion of the county lying within twelve miles of Plymouth, but that area has been most exhaustively treated both as regards field work and reference literature. Dr. Ralfs' industry is shown by the MS. Flora of West Cornwall, running into ten volumes, now in the possession of the Penzance Library Committee. Few more enthusiastic botanists have explored the hills and valleys of Cornwall, and none have left behind a more lasting monument of their labours. To Mr. F. Townsend must be given credit for the first serious attempt to compile a flora of the Scilly Isles. Before his visit in 1864 the literature bearing on the subject was aggravatingly restricted. Borlase's Observations on the Ancient and Present State of the Islands of Scilly (1756) makes mention of just a handful of plants. North's Week in the Isles of Scilly (1850) adds many species, particularly in the way of ferns, and a great fillip was given to the study in 1852 by the publication of a paper by Misses L. and M. Millett in the Report of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Twelve years later the Journal of Botany printed Mr. Townsend's contribution, and for the first time ' Lyonesse ' had received justice. Further discoveries have since been announced by Dr. Ralfs, Mr. A. Somerville, and Rev. H. Boyden. It is but fair to add that in June 1902 the writer of this article printed for private circulation among the ever-increasing band of workers who are assisting him in elucidating the flora of Cornwall A Tentative List of the Flowering Plants, Ferns, etc. This volume of about 300 pages summarizes all that has been done in connection with the flora of the county from earliest times down to the commencement of the year 1902. Grateful acknowledgment is here made of valuable assistance re- ceived by the writer from botanists long recognized as specialists in certain branches of the science. To Mr. E. M. Holmes, of the Pharma- ceutical Society's Museum, he is indebted for the valuable lists of mosses, marine and freshwater algag, fungi, lichens, etc. Mr. Holmes has long been an industrious worker at these sections, and his contributions to this article will afford an excellent bird's-eye view of the richness and almost unique character of the Cornish flora. The Rev. W. Moyle Rogers, whose unrivalled knowledge of the genus Rubi is too widely known to call for comment here, has prepared a capital summary of what has been done regarding the brambles of the county ; and Messrs. H. and J. Groves of Chara fame have very kindly corrected the list of plants with whose distribution they are so intimately acquainted. 54
