Vol. I. No. 13. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



203 



seeking more for theiii.selves. Hard grain woulil take .several 

 hours to digest surtieiently for the liens to get any good 

 from it ; that is why it is to be fed in the evenings to last 

 them as long as possible during the night. 



It is very ea.sy to know whether the hens have had a 

 sufficiency of food to go to roost with, liy feeling their 

 frojis as they roost. If their crojis are half empty, feed a 

 little more, if too full and distended, feed less. 



The feeding of chickens will be dealt with in a special 

 article, ' Chicken Hearing.' 



^^^. 



CllFJ'K LI XT OF THE FOREST TREES OF 

 THE VXFTED STATES, THEIR XAMES AXD 

 RAXdES. V,y George 15. Seedwortli. Jiiilhtin Xo. 17, 

 Division of Fomtry, U.S. Dcpdi-tment of AyricitUtire. 



Gn account of the confusion in nomenclature regarding 

 tlie forest trees of the United States, esjiecially those of 

 economic importance as sources of timber, the Division of 

 Forestry has issued this Imlletiu so as to pave the way to a 

 more definite sy,stem of naming connnercial timber trees in 

 that country. 



The bulletin consists of a list of North American timber 

 trees, arranged in families, giving the scientitic name and the 

 common name as well as the distribution of each in the 

 various states. 



There are several West Indian trees mentioned that are 

 found in Southern Florida. Although not of high scien- 

 tific value, the list will lie useful for reference to those who 

 are interested in the timber trees of the American continent. 

 The list of the common names is possibly the most complete 

 yet published. 



THE XATURAL HISTORY OF I'LAXTS. P,y 

 Profes.sor Kerner Von !Marilaun, English translation by 

 Professor F. W. Oliver. Xew and Cheap edition Mi'fsvf. 

 Black ie <f- Son, 50 Old Jiailnj, London, E.C. 10 jiorts at 

 !■■'. IJd. each. 



As has already been noticed in the Aijrifultnral Xeios 

 (p. 123) a new edition of Professor Oliver's Engli.sh translation 

 of Kerner's Natural History of I'lantu is being issued by 

 Messrs. Plackie it Son. We regret very much that since the 

 issue of the first English edition in 1S97, the venerable 

 author, Professor Kerner von Marilaun has died. 



The new edition is imblished in monthly parts at l.v. (ii/. 

 each and will lie completed in si.xteen number.s. Tlie chief 

 <lifference between this and the fir.st edition (published 

 in 16 parts at '2x. M. each) is that the coloured plates are 

 omitted. The printing both as regards text and figures is 

 admirable. 



Volume I. gives an account of the form and life of 

 jilants. We have first a discussion on the nature of 

 jirotoplasm, the actual living matter both of animals and- 



lilants. A description follows of the different ways in which 

 plants take in their food— first the normal jilants taking in 

 .salts dissolved in water from the soil and gases from the air, 

 then those plants which oljtain their food from dead and 

 decaying animal and vegetable matter, and finally parasites, 

 ])liints which obtain their food by growing on and robbing 

 other living plants. 



The volume ends with a de.scriiition of the different 

 forms of root, stem and leaf met with in the higher (ilants, 

 showing how beautifully these various forms are adajited to 

 the conditions under which {ilants live. 



A'olunie II. is chiefiy occuiiied with an account of the 

 reproduction of plants. The author describes the means by 

 which fertilization is ett'ected in the lower as well as in the 

 higher plants, and how the reproductive bodies — spores or 

 seeds — are distributed to ' fresh fields and pa.stures new." 

 The chai>ter on the contrivances to which plants have been 

 driven to .secure the dispersal of their fruits and seeds is one 

 of the most interesting in the liook. 



It is i|uite iinpossilile to do justice to the merits of 

 this fascinating book in a short notice ; we recognize through- 

 out the deep sym|)atlietic interest the author took in plant 

 life. It is true that the explanations given by the author as 

 to the meaning of certain modifications of plants sometimes 

 api)ear far-fetched and hardly warranted by facts, but even 

 here he is always interesting, and the clearness with which 

 he states the facts always gives a clear appreciation of the 

 subject in (juestion. The book may be confidently recom- 

 mended to all interested, in any way, in plant life. 



ilessrs. P.lackie it Son, to whom we are indebted for 

 copies of the first two parts request us to state that they will 

 be pleased to forward prospectuses of this or of any other of 

 their works noticed in these columns to any one applying for 

 them. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Mr. G. Whitfield Smith, the Tnivelling Superin- 

 tendent of the Department, left Barbados on the S. S. 

 Mdiuitiliennc on the 2nd. instant for New York. 

 jMr. Smith will return liy the fir.st available boat to the 

 Virc-iii Lshinds and ;^^onlserrat, and later will visit the 

 Botanic Stations in some of the other islands. He will 

 also give a course of Lectures to Teachers at Montser- 

 rat. 



Mr. L. Lewton-Brain, B.A., arrived from England 

 by the mail of September 29, and assumed his duties 

 as Mycologist and Agricidtnrnl Lecturer of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture. Mr. Brain was 

 formerly demonstrator in Botany at Cambridge 

 LTniversity. 



A ' Scavenger ' Fly. ^Ir. Hart of the Botanic 

 Garden, Trinidad, has sent some fiie.s, found by a Trinidad 

 jilanter on diseased liananas. The chrysalis case (puparium) 

 of the files showed clearly that the grub was what is known as 

 a 'rat-tiiiled maggot,' that is, a maggot with a long telescopic 

 tail which enables it to live buried in lupud or .senn-h(iuid 

 matter, the long tail Ijeing stretched to the surface to get air. 

 Probably the grubs of the fiy lived in the decaymg matter of 

 the bananas: it is improbable that they are in any way 

 hurtful. They are more likely useful memV)ers of the great 

 tribe of 'scavengers' to which we owe so much. 



