The section Farinosae was first denned by Pax (1) in 1889 with citation of P. farinosa and P. sibirica as representative species. He published at the same time his section Auriculatae. The only distinction given of apparent moment between the two sections is the shape and size of the capsule. In Auriculatae it is globose and included in the calyx, while in Farinosae it is cylindric and more or less exserted. This diagnostic character was found to be unsatisfactory, with the result that in 1905 Pax (2) in his Monograph combined the two sections under Farinosae. There was still an undercurrent of opinion that a division was justified, and at the Third Primula Conference in 1913 Bayley Balfour (3) reverted to the previous arrangement without, however, any stated reasons. At the Fourth Primula Conference held in 1928 the sections of the genus were reviewed by Smith and Forrest (4), who again subordinated Auriculatae to Farinosae. In 1932 appeared Bruun's Cytological Studies in Primula (5), with a detailed analysis of the species then available in cultivation. Here valid evidence was given that certain species assessed in the past as within Auriculatae did differ cytologically from the general run of species included without question in the Farinosae. But the cytological evidence taken alone tends to associate these Auriculatae with other species quite dissimilar from the broad morphological point of view. The problem is referred to again by Wright Smith (6) in his Hooker Lecture, where it is admitted that the cytological data do support the view that there is a degree of fundamental difference between the two sections. But the difficulty still remains of finding satisfactory macroscopic distinctions. The present authors have come to the conclusion that it is better to keep both under the general heading Farinosae rather than to separate them by slender and often misleading characters supported as these may be by the cytology. In any case much remains to be done on the cytological side, as the majority of the species are yet to be analysed, and for general purposes the incorporation of the cytological data in an analytical key would not be satisfactory.

The Archæan rocks of the southernmost part of the parish of Harris in the Outer Hebrides have long been known to include not only a wide variety of gneisses of igneous origin, but also a group of paragneisses which, along with presumably contemporaneous formations in Glenelg, Tiree, Iona and elsewhere, probably represent the most ancient sediments in Britain. Apart from early references by Macculloch (1819) and Heddle (1878, 1888, 1901), for practically all our present information on these gneisses we are indebted to Jehu and Craig (1927), who have made a reconnaissance survey over the whole chain of the Outer Hebrides and whose work forms the standard account of the geology of this region.

The present paper gives a description of the gneisses around the village of Rodil, a district of somewhat complex petrography and metamorphic history. The paragneisses present include crystalline limestones, calc-silicate rocks, garnet-kyanite-gneisses, graphite-schists, quartzites, and other schistose and gneissose rocks less easily described by short titles. These sediments have been intruded by sills or sheets of basic to ultrabasic composition, now represented by gneisses of the composition of eclogite, garnet-amphibolite, amphibolite, peridotite, pyroxenite, saxonite, websterite, and a series of rocks referred to under the portmanteau name of metagabbro—types akin to pyroxene-granulites and basic charnockites, often garnet-bearing, but locally with pyroxene and garnet replaced to a varying extent by hornblende and biotite. There is also present a large mass of anorthosite-gneiss bordered by metagabbros, both the feldspathic and basic rocks bearing frequent schlieren of eclogite, garnet-amphibolite, and amphibolite. The complex is traversed locally by acid and basic pegmatite dykes and sheets.

Previous studies on the cytology of the wild and less highly developed “diploid” forms of potatoes have been mainly concerned with the number of chromosomes. Rybin (1933) in his cytological investigation on the South American cultivated and wild potatoes has recorded 12 as the haploid number of chromosomes in seven species including S. Rybinii. Ratera (1938) reported the same number of haploid chromosomes in S. Parodii and six other species indigenous to Argentine.

The present study is concerned primarily with the secondary pairing of chromosomes at meiosis in six “diploid” species with a view to determining the basic number in potatoes and to ascertaining the exact “status” of these species.

The existence in Mexico of blight-resistant species of potato has been known for many years, but they occur in the wild and are quite unsuitable for agricultural purposes. In order to utilise their resistance to disease it is necessary to combine disease resistance with the cropping qualities of cultivated forms while eliminating the undesirable characters which are prominent in the wild forms. Breeding work with this object in view has been in progress at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station for several years, and results obtained in the course of testing progenies for reaction to blight infection are discussed in the following pages.

Soils developed on basic igneous rocks, or their associated glacial drifts, are of fairly common occurrence in North-East Scotland and occupy a considerable area in Aberdeenshire. So far, only isolated studies with some specific object in view have been made of such soils, and a few descriptions with analyses have been published (Mitchell, 1936; Muir and Fraser, 1940; Whelan, 1939; Ogg, 1935). Interesting and important facts have been brought out in these investigations, but, apart from the work of Muir, no attempt has been made to study the distribution and field relations of the soils, and arable soils are mentioned only incidentally by Muir. In the present study an account is given of the classification and distribution of the various soil types occurring in the Kennethmont, Insch, Old Meldrum district of Aberdeenshire, an area which is highly farmed and which has long had a high reputation for its fertility and productivity. A soil map is given at the end of this study.

Studies of the growth stages of some species of Promicroceras (Currie, 1942 and 1943) have led to similar inquiries into the growth stages of other genera. The choice of genera studied has been determined mainly by the material available; but fortunately the material available has provided an opportunity for investigation of a compressed fairly involute form (Witchellia) and some depressed involute forms (Cadoceras and some Sphaeroceratids) for comparison with the evolute Promicroceras.

Most of the specimens used are from a collection of ammonites kept for study by Professor A. E. Trueman, to whom the writer is again indebted for material. Other specimens used are from the collection of the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow University. As usually happens in investigations of this kind, a number of the specimens cut had to be discarded owing to the structure being obliterated by calcification. As a result, the number of measurable sections available was smaller than one had hoped.

Artificial interspecific hybrids in “diploid” species of potatoes have been recorded by Bukasov (1938), Emme (1936), Reddick (1939), and others. These authors paid little, if any, attention to the number and behaviour of the chromosomes in their plants, but rather concentrated on interspecific compatibilities, inheritance of flower colour, and resistance to disease or the genetical sequellæ to exposure to low temperature, all with regard to the possible utilisation of the plants in commerce.

The present cytological investigations are primarily concerned with the cytology of two interspecific “diploid” potato hybrids with a view to determining the homology of the chromosomes of the parents and its bearing on sterility.

In the introduction to his previous paper on the Structure (Odell, 1939) the author included a short description of the stratigraphy of the region under review, and the briefest account only is therefore here deemed necessary.

A principal feature of north-east Greenland is the considerable number of representatives of the Geological Succession which lie exposed in the ice-free mountainous tract between the Inland Ice Cap and the Greenland Sea. These formations include Pre-Cambrian, Palæozoic, and Mesozoic sedimentaries with Kainozoic eruptives. They have a general trend north and south, and while the older rocks are situated mainly inland, the younger ones lie along the fringes of the coast-line. Consequently, as one sails westward up the immense fjords which cut transversely across the formations, one moves downwards in the succession towards the older rocks. The older rocks, however, underlie by far the greater part of the ice-free area, and of these, sandstones and coarse elastics of Old Red type, quartzites, slates, and limestones ranging from Ordovician to Pre-Cambrian, and metamorphic rocks with granites comprising a Metamorphic Complex, are found in three great belts in order from east to west, between latitudes 72° and 74°. Within these limiting latitudes, the numerous inlets and deeply entrenched fjords, whose great bare walls display in remarkable fashion the multi-coloured formations and their structures, have yielded a considerable amount of information in recent years to the British, Scandinavian, and other geologists who have studied them.

The literature of the Scottish Cephalopoda is, on the whole, rather scanty. Most of the references occur in more general faunistic lists, or are comparatively short notices in various periodicals. Except for Russell's work, which dealt almost exclusively with the collections of the former Fishery Board for Scotland and did not include references to the other Scottish species, there is no comprehensive paper devoted to the Scottish Cephalopoda. More attention has been paid to the subject in neighbouring countries. Massy (1928) has summarised previous work on the Irish species; Grimpe (1925) has dealt with the species of the North Sea, and Hertling (1929, 1936) has supplemented Grimpe's work with further notes on the Helgoland species; Grieg (1933) has described the Norwegian forms; Nielsen (1930) has listed the species occurring at the Faroes; Stevenson (1935) has described those found on the Yorkshire coast. Where references are made to the species occurring in the above-mentioned waters, these summaries only are quoted.