HOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE 217 



above. The soil moisture was determined for southwest and northeast 

 slopes in the summer months. In the latter the percentage of moisture 

 was from 50 to 100% greater than in the former during May and June 

 and from 20 to 50% greater during July, August and September. The 

 determination of soil moisture at progressive depths down to 5 feet 

 showed an increasing amount of moisture in July and August and a 

 decreasing amount in December and April. 



A preliminary paper by Weaver giving some of the earlier results of 

 this investigation may be found in this journal,' 2 with some data on 

 the physical conditions which have not been republished in the paper 

 under notice. — Forrest Shreve. 



A New Botanical Textbook. — One of the latest additions to botan- 

 ical literature is a textbook for agricultural students covering a year's 

 work in botany. 1 The author's objects as stated in the introduction, 

 are to present the structures and functions of flowering plants and to 

 relate them to such agricultural subjects as farm crops, forestry and 

 horticulture, and to the more advanced courses in botany; to present 

 the kinds of plants with emphasis upon their evolutionary relationships 

 and their economic importance; and to present evolution, heredity and 

 plant breeding as related to the improvement of plants. Part 1 consists 

 of chapters on flowers, pistils and stamens, seeds and fruits, germina- 

 tion of seeds, cells and tissues, roots, stems, buds and leaves; Part 2, 

 chapters on thallophytes, bryophytes, pteridophytes, spermatophytes. 

 classification of angiosperms and families of economic importance, 

 ecological classification of plants, evolution, heredity and plant breeding. 



In the opinion of the writer the arrangement of the chapters might 

 easily be improved. Part 1 dealing with complicated structures should 

 be much more readily grasped by the average student after completing 

 the study of the lower groups of plants presented in Part 2. The chap- 

 ters on cells and tissues, roots stems, buds and leaves should precede 

 the study of the flower. Of course such readjustments are easily made. 

 The addition of some ecological facts is commendable, and this feature 

 of the book might have been added to in view of its importance to stu- 

 dents of grazing and forestry. The volume contains much new infor- 

 mation, the material is clearly presented and well illustrated, and it is 

 a valuable addition to the list of college agricultural texts. — J. G. Brown. 



1 Weaver, J. E. Evaporation and Plant Succession in Southeastern Wash- 

 ington and Adjacent Idaho. Plant World, 17: 273-294, Oct. 1914. 



1 Martin, John N. Botany for Agricultural Students. John Wiley & Sons. 1919. 



