THl-: AM I:RI(A.\ liniAXIST 43 



l)arin<; these specifications with l(»sil lernworts of the De- 

 voiiiaii, a fairly close resenihlaiice hetween the two is found 

 {i> e.\i>L It is further concluded fn>ni a >tudy of the eni- 

 hryolog'y of the fern that the evidence points toward a 

 filamentous origin for even the most complex sporophytes. 

 In the concluding volume the author purposes to make a 

 more natural classification of tlie fernworts than, has yet 

 heen made i)y reconstructing the phylesis of the Filicales in 

 the light of this new knowdege. Each of the seventeen 

 chapters concludes with a very full bibliography of the sub- 

 jects discussed and it is a matter of some chagrin that in 

 several of the lists not a single American author is included,- 

 and in the whole book, only two or three. The book is a 

 tall octavo of upwards of 350 pages and is exceptionally 

 well printed and illustrated. It is one of the Cambridge 

 Botanical Handbooks, issued by the University of Cambridge 

 and is to be had in America of Macmillan and Company, 

 New York. The price is $7.50 net. 



The great number of plants common to the United 

 States and Great Britain makes it likely that two little books 

 on the subject of plant names recently issued in London will 

 find rm appreciative audience on this side of the world. Tn 

 "Plant Names," by, T. S. Bindsay. issued by the Sheldon 

 Press, the author has attempted to explain the meaning of the 

 technical and vernacular names of British plants which usual- 

 1\- puzzle the novice. There are short chapters on the history 

 of plant naming, on pronunciation, spelling, and gender, on 

 names whose meanings are conjectural, as well as those de- 

 rived from habitat, use. resemblance to other objects, medi- 

 cinal virtues .and the like. Then follows a descriptive list of 

 tile more c<inimon specific names with their definitions. Al- 

 though the book contains less than a hundred pages, the auth- 



