NOTES AND COMMENT 367 



J. Smeaton Chase's recently issued book, California Desert Trails 

 (Houghton, Mifflin Company), is not a scientific treatise, — in fact the 

 author expressly disclaims the title of botanist, or even the more 

 indefinite one of naturalist. Nevertheless the professional student 

 will find in it much valuable information concerning the ecology and 

 florist ics of this interesting region, presented in untechnical language, 

 but giving evidence of careful observation and happily without falling 

 into the slips which render some books of this class distasteful to 

 scientific readers. The author has not only a quick sympathy for the 

 varied aspects of the desert, but he sees them with an accurate dis- 

 cernment and portrays them faithfully and with a delightful literary 

 skill. His pages reflect the illusive but compelling charm which the 

 desert holds for those who are intimate with its austere beauty. We 

 commend them to any who wish to form, or to recall, a picture of 

 the California desert and its inhabitants as nature forms them. The 

 full-page illustrations, of which there are 32, graphically representing 

 desert scenery and plants, add to the interest of the text, and a de- 

 scriptive appendix will enable nature students to determine many of the 

 commoner species. — S. B. Paeish. 



