THE PLANT WORLD 23 



Book Reviews. 



First Studies of Plant Life. By George F. Atkinson. Boston. 

 Ginn & Co. 1902. 



The key-note of this little book — and, we may add, the key-note that 

 should guide all nature study — is struck in the introduction when it is 

 stated that ' ' The child cares very little about the forms of things ; he is 

 far more interested in what things do. Things which are in action, which 

 represent states of action, or which can be used by the child in imitating 

 or " staging " various activities or realities, are those which appeal more 

 directly to him and which are most powerful in impressing on his mind 

 the fundamental things on which his sympathies or interests can be built 

 up." It is of little moment to the child whether the leaves of a plant are 

 lanceolate or palmate ; it is the question of what the leaves do for a plant 

 that interests him. In a series of short, clearly-written chapters Professor 

 Atkinson explains the activities of plants, such as how the seeds behave 

 when germinating ; how the seedlings come up from the ground ; how 

 the living plant uses water to remain firm ; how the root lifts water ; how 

 the plant gives off water ; how starch is made ; how plants breathe, etc., 

 in fact just the questions that every " live " boy and girl would naturally 

 ask. There are also chapters in which the life story is told of a sweet pea, 

 an oak, a fern, a moss, and a mushroom, and a final section recounting 

 the battles of certain plants in the world. The "Struggle of a White 

 Pine " may be read by many older persons with interest, as well as the 

 struggle of plants against wind, for territory, and finally the disposition 

 of plants into societies. The book is thoroughly illustrated, and alto- 

 gether seems to us to be of the many that have thus far appeared the 

 nearest to the ideal of what a book of this kind should be. It can not 

 fail to be a success in the field it is intended to cover. f. h. k. 



Eucalyptus Cultivated in the United States. By Alfred J. 

 McClatchie. U. S. Dept. Agric, Bureau of Forestry, Bulletin No. 35. 

 1902. 



Since, as the author states, the eucalypts are now grown in America, 

 especially in the southwestern United States, more extensively than any 

 other exotic forest tree, the present treatise is valuable and timely. After 

 discussing briefly the home of the eucalypts, their introduction into 

 various parts of the world, their botanical characteristics and general 



