Books and Cikkhxt Litdratikh. 101 



the ages attained b\- the mure important trees, and another 

 giving the diameters aaid ages of sixteen Big Trees. An exami- 

 nation of this table proves that size and age are not coordinate, 

 for the largest tree, which had a diameter of 24 feet, 2 inches, was 

 only 1,346. y.ears old',. TvhiJc' the oldest, with 2,17? annxiafrings, 

 was only IS-feet, 4 inches' in diameter-. ' Much^reater ages'lrave 

 been ascirbed to the Big Trees, but Jepson is of the opinion that 



iHone ar€ more than 2,500 years oldr ■ 



■ '» ; The systematic part of the Sylva^occupies 220 pages. The 

 descriptions are conscise and- clear, and 'good keys are siijjplied 

 for the guidance of -'thetstu'de'nf. A>^'fuH s)*^nonomy is not at- 

 tempted, buteach species is siipplied with references to the irrore 

 pertinent literature^" The^xtensive field studies of the author 



-have, served him (well in giving accuracy to th'e delinritation of 

 ranges, and in supplying a fund of varied information; It is 



•with no little satisfaction that we record this latest evidence of 

 the activity of the. botantiss of the University' -of California, 

 who have contributed so ably in recertt years to the elucidation 

 of the flora of California. — S. B. Parisw; 



Atlantic PnyTOPt^it'NtLor^.'^tiiWe ieports * on i)lankton 

 material collected from the Giilf Stream," the Canary 'Current, 

 the North Equatorial Current^ the Guinea Cvirrent, the South 

 Equatorial Current, and the Sargafsso §^a',''i'n all of which records 

 w^re made of tecahty,-tinie, terilperatity'e of air aild'wafei;, depth 

 and character 'of eolT^tidn:. ' At-the latitude of Brest, diktoins 

 werie the chief component, arid ffotlithente^to the' Azores ocean 



'plankton, chiefly ' Cerdiinrn, preponderated, "tii the 'Canary 

 Curretrt tor' tHeCap^'VeMe Islands a Variety of 'form's' prevailed 

 lil 'which 'diatoins were; again proriiiriyrtt. '' ih the North Eqiia- 

 •torial stream" TrichoSes7itiufn''^v:a's the chief 'forrri,"but with it 



•Peridineafe bcciirred.'"- M-'tfte''G"uiirea' Curr^flt the flora was 

 meager. Trichodesmium pr^p6hdferated in th'fe'Soutli Eqiiatoirial 

 "Currefrt^, ahd'iri the-Bargossa vSea,'Cemimwtt ' 'As regards Vertical 

 distribution, diatoms, and to -^dirie extent Pfefidirieae, occur Ut 

 the surface when the water'^is ddld "vi'htrtit iS' wanner the' latter 

 are tnbre riunierou:^] ' buf'they fill behind in warrh regions 



n— : -i . .r, t\ vc .t-.: 



■ I ' ) 



♦Stuwe, W., Phytoplankton aus 4pm Noid-Atlantik. Engler's Bot. Jahrb. XLIII, heft 



4 22S'3«2r 4uh mar>9; ' i9W?^Y JtlK lu 5.riu:^jiJ( 



