36. Rivers. State the exact nature of river or stream bank, describing all the factors as before and noting other species associated. Especially note gravelly, sandy or mud banks. 37. Dongas. Give size and depth approximately and describe all the other factors. 38. Kloofs, Ravines. 39. Ant-bear Holes. The above are for the most part of a relatively primitive and unstable nature. In the more highly developed plant communities, the habitat has been influenced by the vegetation itself, and each species is definitely related to the other species growing with it. This relationship must be brought out in describing the habitat. In the larger sense the habitats are few in number, including : (1) Desert plains, stony or sandy. (2) Karroo plains. (3) Grass veld of different types. (4) Tree-veld. (5) Various types of scrub and macchia. (6) Forest. After naming the particular type the chief factors should again be noted soil, water, and light. The character of the surrounding species and, if possible, some of their names should be given. Where a species is being suppressed by others this should be carefully noted. It should be noted whether a species is marginal in the forest or not. Various layers should be distinguished--trees, under shrubs, under herbs, epiphytes, climbers. The following commonly accepted symbols may be used to denote frequency: After a beginning has been made with ecological collecting on these lines, the worker will probably find that his interest is attracted to the behaviour of certain definite species. He should always be on the outlook for cases of plants being suppressed by other plants, for this throws valuable light on the question of plant succession. In fact, wherever a species is found to be dying out from an area the cause should at once be looked for. Important general processes may nearly always be brought to light. It is to be strongly urged that each worker should undertake to make an intensive study of one or more of the most interesting plants growing in his immediate neighbourhood. Each species should be observed throughout the year. The nature of the root system and its relationship to the soil, the nature of storage organs, the position and behaviour of renewal buds, the aerial growth form and its changes, the detailed morphology and physiological anatomy of stem and leaf, the general physiological behaviour of the plant as a whole, the various reproductive processes, the pollinating agencies, the characters of the seed and agents of dispersal, agents which destroy the seed and enemies generally which attack the plant, the behaviour of the seedling and factors which influence its growth and establishment; all these points should be carefully noted. If any friend of the Survey wishes to help it in its appeal to young workers, he might do so by offering an annual prize for the best autecological study of this kind submitted to the committee. The study of a single species in this intensive way may bring to light many important facts of a general bearing. It may be well to point out that still more valuable results are likely to be obtained by using the comparative method, i.e. by comparing the behaviour of two or more species under varying conditions. After the worker has spent some time on intensive work as outlined above, he may find it interesting to carry out some more extensive investigations on the vegetation of his neighbourhood. After he has learned to recognize the chief types of plant community, their distribution over an area may be mapped. Separate colours for the different communities may be used, or superposed conventional signs employed. Some general experience in map construction is necessary, but the 'farm survey" maps may be used as a basis. The preparation of vegetation maps, however, is by no means to be considered the chief aim of a botanical survey. PROSPOSED CONVENTIONAI, SIGNS. These follow, as far as possible, the ordinary text-books of surveying, but are modified to suit South African conditions : - Water.-Lake, pond, or river. Sand.-Represented by fine dots evenly distributed over the surface. Along shore, dots arranged in lines parallel to the water between tide marks. A full line represents high water mark. the Grassland. Represented by groups of from five to seven fine dots and dashes, representing tufts of grass distributed evenly over surface. The base of each tuft should be parallel to the lower edge of the map, while the dashes increasing in length from the ends to the centre will give each tuft a rounded top The dashes should be drawn in a direction radiating from a point below the middle of the bases. Signs not to be in rows. Groups of dots in light spots will correct an uneven distribution of tufts. Where the grasses are tall the tufts should be slightly longer. The aims of our Botanical Survey, as explained in the introduction to this guide, are very wide; while ecological studies will form an important part of the work, there are other aspects which may appeal more to individual tastes. After a beginning has been made in plant collecting, the worker may feel inclined to make an intensive study of some particular family or ecological group of plants. Other workers will co-operate and assist him in studying their distribution over South Africa. Geographica distribution in the wider sense affords a key to such important questions as the origin of the South African flora. Various lines of migration may be traced. Mountain ranges and river valleys are particularly important in this connection. Interesting theories have already been put forward, but most of them require a great deal of confirmation. To help this kind of work forward we require to increase the number of accurate local check-lists or "floras." Each worker therefore should endeavour to compile as complete a record as possible of the plants occurring in his neighbourhood, even if he does not intend to use the facts ascertained for ecological or other work of his own. Such local lists are of the greatest possible assistance and service to the Botanical Survey as a whole. NOTES ON THE PROPER USE OF THE COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS. By R. MARLOTH, Ph.D. THE Common names of plants are often considered to be useless for scientific purposes, as the same name is not rarely applied to different species, and the same species may be known under different names in the various parts of the country. In spite of this unreliability they are, however, very useful if accepted with sufficient care and discretion. For the collection of information on the medicinal properties of plants or on plants which are considered to be the cause of disease of animals or on plants useful as stock food, etc., the necessity for an acquaintance with the common names is too obvious to require further proof. Not less important, however, is it also for the purely vegetational work, for as the number of botanists in the various areas is far too small for the task before them, one cannot hope to achieve a fair amount of success without enlisting the assistance and co-operation of those members of the public, especially among the farming community, who do take some interest, and if it were for utilitarian purposes only, in the indigenous vegetation of the country and this cannot be done without accepting and employing the names familiar to these voluntary helpers. If, e.g., we want to chart the distribution of such a conspicuous plant as the spekboom (Portulacaria afra), it would be hopeless to use the botanical name only, for in that case members of the botanical staff would have to travel from farm to farm and spend much time there in exploring them, but the common name will be familiar not only to the farmers, transport riders, etc., but also to the magistrates, teachers, road and scab inspectors, etc., and consequently it should be possible to obtain the desired information by issuing circulars to the various authorities, public bodies, Government officials, private persons, etc. The same argument will apply to questions concerning localities of the boundaries of different botanical regions, e.g. between the Karroo and the south-west, or the Karroid plains and the High Veld, or the borderland of the Kalahari, etc.; hence in many cases the common names have to be used. In doing so, however, precaution must be taken that this use does not lead to confusion, and it is principally for this reason, viz., to secure the benefits of their use without running the risk of uncertainty from a scientific point of view, that these notes are inserted in the guide. The need for such precaution will be best illustrated by a few examples. One of the few generally known South African drugs is buchu, and one should consequently expect that there could be no question about its identity. Yet, there are quite a number of buchus. In commerce only two kinds are recognized, viz.. the round-leaf buchu from Barosma betulina and the long-leaf buchu from B. crenulata, the former standing much higher in value than the latter. But there are other kinds, some of them derived from allied plants, e.g. Diosma, Agathosma, etc., but some also from plants of different natural orders. There is a mountain in Little |