THE PLANT WORLD. 159 



beings in those days to roam amongst that hixuriant undergrowth, and 

 only the fossil remains in the deposits of coal and peat are left to tell 

 of their former existence. ' ' 



In spite of these defects, and there are several, the book contains 

 much that is good. The descriptions of the species treated are full and 

 usable. There are numerous keys based on color of pileus, color of 

 spores, habitat, etc. There is also a full glossary, and numerous full 

 page half tones from photographs. While this may not be the ideal 

 popular work on our fleshy fungi, it is a step. — F. H. K. 



Our Native Trees and how to Identify them. A popular study 

 of their habits and their peculiarities. By Harriet L. Keeler. 

 With 178 illustrations from photographs and with 162 illustra- 

 tions from drawings. Charles Scribner's sons. New York. 

 1900. Price $2.00. 



For a popular treatise on trees, this book is far better than any 

 similar publication within the reach of the amateur botanist and 

 student of nature. The book is intended to cover the Northern States 

 east of the Rocky Mountains, and following the older systematic ar- 

 rangement of Bentham and Hooker, fully describes and illustrates all 

 the native trees of that region together with a few of the more com- 

 mon introduced ones. In addition to the full and well arrang-ed de- 

 scriptions, the text contains many notes of interest in regard to the 

 economic and historic feature of each species. It is fully indexed and 

 supplied with analytical keys, a good glossary and a chapter on struc- 

 tural botany. 



The feature that makes this work so valuable to everyone is the 

 photographic illustrations of almost every species treated in the text. 

 Often there are two or three plates illustrating one species. The 

 photographs in this volume will give a better idea of our native trees 

 than all the volumes of description that could be written. With them 

 to guide him, the amateur can become acquainted with his local sylva 

 with greater ease and to an extent that before was possible only to 

 those in direct contact with herbarium and library facilities out of the 

 reach of all but the few. One fault in the illustrations is the failure 

 to include in the explanation any statement as to the amount of re- 

 duction from natural size. This, however, is not likely to lead to 

 much confusion. — J. B. N. 



