VOL. Iv.] Reviews. 413 
With the nomenclature of the author, as is perhaps well- 
known we do not agree, and especially we object to the setting 
aside of specific for older varietal names, as these last are seldom 
catalogued in works of reference the element of confusion intro- 
duced will be of very remote settlement. 
We may safely rely upon Mr. Coville’s future knowledge of 
Western plants, to convince him of the inherent weakness of the 
generic propositions of ‘‘ Oreobroma,” *‘ Uropappus,’’ ‘* Ptiloca- 
lais,” ‘‘Linanthus,’’ ‘* Allocarya,” ‘“*Sonnea,” ‘‘ Oreocarya,”’ 
‘“ Eremocarya,” ‘‘ Piptocalyx,’’ etc. 
he metric system is adopted throughout the work as is now 
the custom in most scientific papers. — brought face to face 
with the kilometre we are however reminded with more than 
usual force of the great fault of the system—the inexcusably 
long terms. The author says: ‘‘ To those not familiar with this 
system, the following table * * * will be useful.” e com- 
mend this table to the printers and proofreaders of the Depart- 
ment especially in connection with Erigeron calvus describe 
both in Proc. of Biol. Soc. and in this work as ‘1 cm. high 
* * ** blades [of the leaf] 1-1.5 cm. long, tapering into a 
petiole of twice that length * * * heads 7to8 mm. high.” 
“ Potentilla purpurascens pinetorum * * stems about 3 cm. 
high, radical leaves 7 to 14 cm. long.” or Phacelia hispida brachy- 
antka 2%. F 1 togem hips: 2. * 2%" Calys 5 wim, tone 
* -k > in fruit reaching 10 mm. long.” 
The whole number of species and varieties described as new 
is 42. The author has described them with conscientious care 
and tolerable fullness. The greater number are valid as far as° 
we can be certain from the text and the plates in which 21 of 
the species are figured. Very few of the types have been seen 
by us, but Mr. Coville promises a very welcome set to the 
Herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences, where it will 
be accessible to all botanists of the West. 
Aquilegia pubescens seems too closely related to A. chrys- 
Sa with Trelease Mr. Coville considers fA platycar- 
pum as not more than a variety of /endleré, he quotes in the 
synonymy Pitt. i, 166, but appears not to have noticed Mr. 
