SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



327 



SCIENTIFIC L1TEEATUEE. 



BOTANY AND AGRICULTURE. 

 The second volume of the 'Cyclopedia 

 of American Horticulture/ edited by 

 Prof. L. H. Bailey, has made its ap- 

 pearance from the press of the Mac- 

 millan Company and shows the same 

 general excellence attributed to the first 

 volume already noticed in this maga- 

 zine. Subjects under the initials 

 E. M. are treated in the last volume. 

 Among the most notable topics of 

 broader interest are Ferns, Horticulture, 

 Greenhouses and the zonal regions in 

 the various States discussed. A bio- 

 graphical sketch of Asa Gray, by Pro- 

 fessor Bailey, carries with it a touch 

 of interest due to the acquaintance 

 of the editor with that eminent botanist. 

 By the most recent census it has been 

 shown that nearly 2,500 species of native 

 American plants have been brought into 

 cultivation. Dr. Wilhelm Miller gives 

 a piquant description of the manner 

 in which the Cyclopedia was written 

 and edited in an article in the 'Asa Gray 

 Bulletin' for August, 1900, of which the 

 following paragraph is fairly charac- 

 teristic: "The rest is hard work, and 

 every man to his own method. Pro- 

 fessor Bailey uses any or all methods, 

 or no method; usually the latter. He 

 is too busy getting done to think about 

 the best way. Allamanda he wrote in 

 sixty minutes by the clock. It is an 

 article of about 640 words, with eight 

 good species, and accounts for ten trade 

 names. The plants are not merely de- 

 scribed; they are distinguished. Eleven 

 pictures were cited. Not less than 

 twenty books were consulted. Four 

 dried specimens were named. This was 

 the first genus he tackled." 



A much-needed introduction to vege- 

 table physiology (J. & A. Churchill), 



by Dr. Reynolds Green, of the Pharma- 

 ceutical Society of Great Britain, has 

 just appeared. The author discusses the 

 general anatomy of the plant and takes 

 up the general principles of physiology 

 in a very attractive manner, although in 

 certain sections the conciseness of the 

 elementary text is not adhered to. It 

 is a readable book, and the author is 

 particularly apt in his sections dealing 

 with respiration and fermentation. It 

 is distracting, however, to find Professor 

 Green in disagreement with himself con- 

 cerning the dialysation of the enzymes, 

 a group of substances which have been 

 the subject of important investigations 

 by Professor Green for a number of 

 years. This book will undoubtedly find 

 its way into every botanist's library in 

 a few years. 



The annual report of the State 

 Geologist of New Jersey, for 1899, upon 

 Forests is a carefully indexed volume of 

 328 pages (State Printers), with 31 

 plates and some text figures. The re- 

 port is in four principal divisions. C. 

 C. Vermeule gives a general description 

 of the forested area and the conditions 

 of the timber in the several natural 

 divisions of the State, which is well set 

 forth by the aid of well-colored maps. 

 Prof. Arthur Hollick treats the rela- 

 tion between forestry and geology in 

 New Jersey and divides the State into 

 three zones; that of deciduous trees, that 

 of coniferous trees and an intermediate 

 formation. Attention is also paid to the 

 evolution of the species of trees as 

 exhibited by fossil specimens. Prof. 

 J. B. Smith discusses the role of insects 

 in the forest. Dr. John Gifford reports 

 on the forestal conditions and silvicul- 

 tural prospects of the coastal plain of 

 New Jersey. These, with other matter 



