THE PLANT WORLD 135 



of Agriculture at $5,000,000, it appears that the average annual loss 

 outright through corn smut is about two-fifths of the amount of moneys 

 appropriated for the amelioration of our agricultural condition. We are 

 still more willing to lose than to pay for prevention. 



NOTES ON EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE. 



The following articles are of interest to teachers of biology : 

 Albert Perry Brigham. "The Fruits of Science Teaching." School 



Science, January, 1904. 

 A. J. Grout. " Biology as an Added Interest in Life." School Science^ 



April, 1904. 

 Otis W. Caldwell. " Is the Course for College Entrance Requirements 



Best for Those Who Go No Further." School Scie7ice, April, 1904. 



Teachers who are especially interested in leading their pupils to the 

 study of birds will find a little book entitled ' ' Wild Birds in City Parks, ' ' * 

 by Herbert Eugene and Alice Hall Walter, of very great service, not 

 alone for its actual content but for the valuable hints it throws out. Mr. 

 Walter is an enthusiastic teacher, who succeeds eminently in awakening 

 his students to an energetic and appreciative study of nature, and this 

 book, which is now in its third edition, bears ample evidence of this. 

 Its specific object is to publish suggestions and help in the study of wild 

 birds which appear in Lincoln Park, Chicago, of which 145 have been 

 actually observed by himself or his pupils. Brief diagnostic descriptions 

 of these are given, together with charts which embody the results of 

 observations for six years previous to publication. A large blank chart, 

 for entering migration records, printed upon durable paper, is added. 

 The publishers offer separately colored plates of almost all the birds 

 mentioned in the book at the small cost of 2 cents each or 129 for $1.95. 



Book Reviews. 



A Guide to the Study of Lichens. By Albert Schneider. 2d ed.; pp. 



12 + 234, illustrated with 21 plates. Boston : Knight & Millet, 1904. 



The lichens have resisted popular attack as materials for study perhaps 

 as effectively as any other group of plant organisms. This is partly due 

 to difficulties inherent in the materials, but more especially to the lack of 

 students of the group willing to expend the effort necessary for putting 

 our knowledge into form for general elementary use. For this reason this 

 manual by Dr. Schneider should find a wide field of usefulness, which, 

 we hope, will not be curtailed by its rather too technical descriptive 



Chicago: A. W. Muniford, 1904. 66pp. 



