Before drawing conclusions as to the climate or physical condition of the globe at different geological epochs, the botanist must be well informed as to the vegetation of different countries, as to the soils and localities in which certain plants grow, whether on land or in the sea, or in lakes, in dry or marshy ground, in valleys or on mountains, or in estuaries, in hot, temperate, or cold regions. Great caution must be employed also in predicating from one species the conditions of another, inasmuch as different species of the same genus frequently exist in very different habitats, and under almost opposite conditions of moisture and temperature. It is only by a careful consideration of all these particulars that any probable inferences can be drawn as to the condition of the globe. Considering the physiognomy of vegetation at the present day, we find remarkable associations of forms. The Palms, although generally characteristic of very warm countries, are by no means confined to them; Chamærops humilis extending to Europe as far as lat. 43° to 44° N., and C. palmetto in North America to lat. 34° to 36° N., while C. Fortunei, from the north of China, is perfectly hardy in the south of England. Major Madden mentions the association of Palms and Bamboos with Conifers at considerable elevations on the Himalayas. (Edin. Bot. Soc. Trans. iv., p. 185.) Epiphytic Orchids, which usually characterise warm climates, have representatives at great elevations, as Oncidium nubigenum at 14,000 feet in the Andes, and Epidendrum frigidum at from 12,000 to 13,000 feet in the Columbia mountains. These facts point out the care necessary before drawing conclusions as to the climate which fossil plants may be supposed to indicate. FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS.