A Monograph of the British Desmidiaceæ

Abstract

PROGRESS in the study of a difficult group such as the Desmidiacese depends to a very large extent on the publication from time to time of treatises giving an adequate representation of the momentary state of our knowledge. In the past, we have been indebted to de Brebisson, Lundell, Ralfs, and others for works that gave a great impetus to the study of this group. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, Ralfs “British Desmids “indeed formed the standard work of reference, but as the years advanced it became more and more out-of-date, and a new monograph was long overdue when the publication of Messrs. West's “British Desmidiaceae” commenced in 1904. There can be no doubt that this work, which in thoroughness and general excellence far exceeded anything hitherto produced in this direction, marked a great step forward, epitomising as it did the extensive researches that had been carried out in the last quarter of the last century, and placing at the disposal of the scientific world the prolonged and unrivalled experience of two of the foremost algologists of the time. Its influence was almost immediately manifest and has become increasingly so with the publication of successive volumes.

A Monograph of the British Desmidiaceæ.

By the late W. West Prof. G. S. West. Vol. 5, by Dr. Nellie Carter. Pp. xxi + 300 + 39 plates. (London: Printed for the Ray Society, 1923.) 37s. 6d.