ROOKS AND LITERATURE 277 



covered with the Lcpiotu aiiwricdiui Peck. They were Sv; 

 plentiful that the superintendent of the cemetery had them 

 gathereil into piles and hauled away in carts. They have 

 appeared now for two seasons. It seems probable that more 

 extended observations of similar facts may result in obtainiiig 

 a b'lsis for a more comprehensive statement of the edaphic 

 relations of fungi than can now be given. 

 University of Pittsburg. 



BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE. 



Floral Succession in the Prarie-Grass Formation of South- 

 eastern South Dakota. By LeRoy Harris Harvey. 

 Botanical Gazette, Vol. 46: Aug., 1908, pp. 81-108; 

 Oct., 1908, pp. 277-298. 



The author points to the southern origin of the typical 

 prairie species and the southeastern origin of the mesophytic 

 species found along streams. The total annual rainfall is 

 24 inches, 83 7^ of which falls from March to September. 

 Low humidity, winter winds and the low winter rainfall are 

 hostile to tree growth, as are also the pre-occupation of the 

 soil, the hostility of the winter conditions for seedlings, and 

 the absence of mycorhizal fungi from the prairie soils. 



The formation studied is made up of some 90 species, 

 belonging chiefly to the Gramine:Te, Leguminosce and Com- 

 posites. The leading feature of the paper is a description of 

 the appearance of the prairie at the different flowering periods 

 in the growing season. These periods, or "aspects," are 

 live, which, — with the number of species flowering in each, 

 — are as follows: Prevernal, April 1-25, 6 spp.; \'ernal, 

 May 3-31, 28 spp.; Aestival, June i-July7, 21 spp.; Sero- 

 tinal, July 7-Aug. 7, 13 spp.; Autumnal, Aug. 7-Sep. 21, 22 

 spp. Climatological tables are given for each of the aspects. 

 These show that the soil moisture content varies with the 

 topography in the early summer but becomes uniform in the 

 autumn, which brings about a limited distribution for mem- 



