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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



standpoint in ethics — not in biology or 

 psychology or any other science, and 

 that, therefore, he has advanced the 

 cause of objective research in this most 

 baffling field. A few books of this char- 

 acter and the present inextricable 

 tangle in ethical theory might be in a 

 fair way toward ravelling up. 



BOTANICAL BOOKS. 

 Dh. D. H. Scott has rewritten a 

 series of lectures given at the University 

 College, London, 1896, and published 

 them under the title of 'Studies in Fossil 

 Botany' (A. & C. Black). This book will 

 be a most useful one to the botanist, 

 since it presupposes no knowledge of 

 paleontology', and discusses only the 

 portions of a subject of major impor- 

 tance to the student of plants. A 

 perusal of this work will impress the 

 reader with the enormous amount of 

 light thrown on the natural affinities of 

 plants by the results of paleobotanical 

 inA'estigations during the last ten or 

 twelve years. 



'Elements de paleobotanique' 

 (Carre & Naud), by R. Zeiller, is 

 a comprehensive text-book, in which 

 the entire subject receives a thorough 

 and systematic treatment. The preserva- 

 tion of fossils, classification and nomen- 

 clature, systematic examination of the 

 principal types of fossil vegetation, floral 

 succession, climate, etc., are among the 

 principal topics taken up at length. The 

 bibliographic list in the appendix covers 

 eighteen pages and is inclusive of the 

 greater number of important titles. 



Professor Percival, of Southeast- 

 ern Agricultural College, Kent, England, 

 has written a text-book of 'Agricultural 

 Botany' (Duckworth & Co.), which will 

 meet the needs of students interested in 

 pliints from a cultural point of view 

 more nearly than any similar text- 

 book hitherto published. The eight chief 

 divisions of the book are concerned with 

 the general external morjjhology of the 

 plant, internal morphology, piiysiology, 

 classification, and special botany of 

 farm cro])s, weeds, farm seeds and fungi. 



considered chiefly in relation to some of 

 the common diseases of plants and bac- 

 teria. The matter is arranged in two 

 portions; a didactic discussion of the 

 principles of the subject, which has been 

 kept as free as might be from technicali- 

 ties, and a series of demonstrations and 

 experiments, by which all the more 

 important points are actually seen in 

 the plant. The point of view through- 

 out the entire book is entirely different 

 from that of the lecturer on pure bot- 

 any, and the perspective of the entire 

 subject is rearranged to meet the new 

 conditions. It is impossible, of course, 

 that all the more important recent dis- 

 coveries, even in such a basal portion of 

 the work as the nutrition of plants, 

 should be put into practise immediately, 

 but it is to be said that Professor Per- 

 cival's book is fairly abreast of the 

 times, although adhering to some an- 

 achronisms. The introduction and use of 

 the book in America would be followed 

 by a notable improvement of the in- 

 struction in botany in most agricultural 

 schools. 



'The New Forestry' (Pawson & 

 Brailsford, Sheffield), by Mr. John Simp- 

 son, is a manual adapted to British 

 woodlands and game preservation. One 

 chapter is devoted to the management 

 of a woodland as a place for sheltering 

 and rearing pheasants and other game 

 birds and animals. The remaining chap- 

 ters are devoted to practical directions 

 as to rotation, allotment, cultural 

 methods and general administration of 

 forests, with a consideration of the nu- 

 merous factors that must be taken into 

 account in forestry operations on an 

 English estate. The practical Talue of 

 the book is enhanced by estimates of 

 expenses and selling values. 



THE BKKT SCO All INDUSTRY. 

 The report on the 'Progress of the 

 Beet-Sugar Industry in the United 

 States in 1899' presents a very hopeful 

 outlook for the success of this industry 

 over a quite wide range of territory. The 

 report was prepared by the Department 



