THE PLANT WOKLD 77 



Notes of Current Literature. 



The Decay of Timber and Methods of Preventing It is the title of 

 a valuable contribution by Dr. H. von Schrenk. [Bureau Plant Indus- 

 tr}^, Bull. 14.] It begins with the structure of timber, giving account of 

 the elements composing wood of heart and sap, and then proceeds to 

 the consideration of the factors which cause decay in wood. The major 

 portion of the paper is devoted to timber preservation, and must prove 

 of great value to railway companies and others interested in this sub- 

 ject. The maintenance of the supply of cross-ties is a problem of seri- 

 ous moment, not only to the railway manager but to the forester as 

 well. The book is illustrated throughout. 



The Department of Agriculture has recently published a list of the 

 economic and other fungi of which they now have specimens for distri- 

 bution. They will go in the main to experiment stations, but may also 

 be obtained by private workers to whom they will prove of value. 



" The Cow Pea" is the title of the latest publication issued by the 

 Experiment Farm of the North Carolina State Horticultural Society at 

 Southern Pines, N. C. This book, neatly bound and illustrated in plain 

 and concise manner, discusses the value and uses of this important crop, 

 the Cow Pea. Every reader can get a copy free by writing to the Su- 

 perintendent of Experiment Farm, Southern Pines, N. C, 



The announcement of the fifteenth annual session of the Marine 

 Biological Laboratory at Wood's HoU, Massachusetts, has been received. 

 The session will extend from July 2 to August 13, and in botany three 

 courses are offered : (1) Cryptogramic Botany ; (2) Ecology ; (3) Plant 

 Physiology. The botanical staff consists of B. M. Davis, George T. 

 Moore, R. H. True, Henry C. Cowles, Charles H. Shaw and others. 



Among the many plant catalogues that have come to our attention, 

 perhaps, none is more attractive than that issued by Harlan P. Kelsey, 

 of the Highlands Nursery, Kawana, North Carolina. Only hardy Amer- 

 ican plants are offered, and it is perhaps surprising to some to know how 

 attractive many of our native plants are in cultivation. They should be 

 more extensively grown. 



