Illustrations of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of the: Falkland.
Islands. By Mrs. E. F. Vallentin. (Reeve and Go. £44s. net.). —One welcomes this volume of Mrs. Vallentin, with the accom- panying descriptions by Mrs. Cotton, and regrets that ill-health did not allow of the carrying. out of the original plan—a complete illustrated flora. The chilly, rainy and windswept nature of the Falkland. Islands has had a remarkable effect on. the character of the vegetation, and has heightened its interest, already great, through the number of rare and, in some cases, unique plants found there. There are no trees ; most of the plants are of dwarf habit, the largest of the few shrubs—a veronica—reaches only seven feet in. height ; the next in size to this, the " Lachima," attains five feet, and it is found only, in the valleys. Some plants that were common when. Sir J. D. Hooker visited the islands are now rare or dwarfed owing to the grazing of sheep.
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