98 The Plant World. 



Professor Nelson's sumrnary is also illuminating. According to 

 this, 2733 species are accepted in the whole book, while 1788 

 synon\ ms are cited. No attempt has been made, however, to 

 cite all of the sAnon^ ms, and since many of those mentioned are 

 old proposals this gives but little clue to the value of recent 

 work. From these results, especially those mentioned for the 

 Compositae, it would seem that the species-making mill has been 

 grinding altogether too fast, especially when we consider that 

 as the flora becomes better known and intermediate forms are 

 collected, the number will be still further reduced rather than 

 increased. 



The aim throughout seems to be to steer a middle course, ac- 

 cepting all real contributions to knowledge but rejecting all 

 attempts at artificial species-making. The author's evident 

 desire to see fair play is well shown in his commendable readi- 

 ness to reduce his own earlier species in the few cases where 

 this seems desirable. In fact, the spirit of the work throughout 

 impresses one as a sincere attempt to express truth, while the 

 errors are due to a lack of facilities or of time for making more 

 exhaustive researches. It is regrettable that the author could 

 not have added to the intimate field of knowledge of his flora a 

 study of types in the larger eastern and European herbaria. 

 There are also several institutions in the west where much in- 

 formation concerning the species to be included and their dis- 

 tribution was readily obtainable. The literature on Rocky 

 Mountain botany might also have been more thoroughly ex- 

 plored to advantage, especially the papers of ?iliss Eastwood, 

 Professor M. E. Jones, and Mr. Brandegee. However, the 

 omissions can be readily pardoned in view of the splendid work 

 accomplished. 



As in the acceptance of species,so in the treatment of genera 

 the author has shown moderation. It is a pleasure to find such 

 well known genera as Pinus,vSaxifraga, Astragalus, and Mentzelia 

 retained in their entirety, as in the older treatises. On the other 

 hand we find accepted such segregates as Batrachium and 

 Halerpestes frcm Ranunculus; Drymocallis, Argentina, and 

 Horkelia from Potentilla; and ten genera created out of Oenothera. 

 In following the Vienna Rules of Nomenclature, "so far as 

 practicable, "many time-honored names which would have been 



