48 THE PLAXT WORLD. 



BOOK REVIEWS. 



Corn Pr.ANTs liy Frederick Leroy Saro-eiit [Hougliton, MitHin c<: 

 Co., I is one of the most delightfully written and entertaining l)Ooks 

 tliat we have read in many a day. Beginning with the beautiful myth 

 of Ceres and Proserpine, whence came our word cereal, the life history 

 of each of the various corn plants is given in such simple, non-techni- 

 cal language that it reads more like a romance than a book of botany. 

 It was prepared rather as a su[)plementary reader in schools, than as a 

 text })ook, and as such cannot fail to arouse the interest of the young 

 pu})ils, and give them a clearer idea of the grand part the cereal grains 

 have played in the history and development of civilization. As the 

 author naively remarks in the preface, it is believed that the book will 

 be of interest also to older readers, who do not object to l)eing ad- 

 dressed in simple language freed from unnecessary technicalities. 

 There are still too few books of this kind. — F. II. Iv. 



Minnesota Plant Lifk. By Professor Conway MacMillan. Pub- 

 lished by the Minnesota State (Geological Survey. 

 After readino- this chai'mino; volume one feels a sense of regret 

 that it cannot l>e more widely circulated throughout the country. 

 Professor MacMillan has succeeded in presenting all the important 

 facts in the life, habits and structure of plants in a style interesting to 

 the veriest tyi-o in botanical lore. The book is rendered doubly at- 

 tractive l>y numerous beautiful })hotographs of characteristic scenes 

 and groups of veo-etation, while various outline cuts, selected mainlv 

 from other works, serve to em[)hasize the author's ex})lanations of 

 morphology. In one respect "Minnesota Plant Life" is entirely 

 uni(jue among American works on popular botany, in that it presents 

 for the first time a general view of the plant families, thus covering 

 l)ractically the same field as the series now being published as a supple- 

 ment to this journal. As the book is intended ])rimarily for the 

 Minnesota student, however, Professor MacMillan wisely restricts his 

 treatment to those families occurring within the state limits. It ma}' 

 be (juestioned whether the absence of scientific names is an undoul)ted 

 advantage in a book of this kind, l»ut it certainly enhances its interest 

 to the average reader. The book is unfortunately not offered for sale, 

 but is intended for distribution to the people of Minnesota. — C L. P, 



