THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 43 



this book to identity the plants he ma3^find. For instance, 

 there are 184 species of Crate^us given, while other books 

 name less than fifty. In the key for separating these one 

 frequentl}' finds such expressions as "anthers pink" or 

 "anthers j-ellow" as the sole distinction betw^een species. 

 Since the hawthorns bloom for only a few weeks, it fol- 

 lows that Dr. Small's key, or rather Mr. Beadle's is of use 

 only once a 3'ear ! It seems absurd to claim 184 species of 

 hawthorns for the Gulf States, but w^e are told that the 

 species given are based upon material in the Biltmore her- 

 barium, only. Along with this inclination to split up re- 

 cognizable species, is a similar tendency- in the treatment 

 of genera. Where one genus was once enough we now 

 have several often apparently selected with a whimsical 

 regard for assonance as Oxalis, lonoxalis, Monoxalis, 

 Lotoxalis, Xanthoxalis and Paronychia, Anvchia, Odon- 

 tonychia, Siphonychia, Anycbiastrum. If narrowing the 

 generic lines wnll facilitate the study of plants, no one will 

 begrudge the author these new ones ; but no such excuse 

 can be shown for changing the names of several orders 

 which have the authority of universal use for existing. 

 What is gained by substituting Opuntiaceae for the better 

 known Cactacete ? Or Frangulacete for RhamnacccC ? 

 These seem over refinements prompted b^^ a regard for 

 form rather than for substance. In this book the well 

 known Umbellifer^e, Labiatce and Scrophulariaccce are 

 discarded and in their places one finds Ammiacete, Lamia- 

 ceae and Rhinanthacea?. Juggling with the names of the 

 orders is a comparativeh' recent practice, but the possibil- 

 ities for changes are numerous. It has not been long since 

 LeguminoscE gave place to Papilionaccce but now this is 

 superseded by Fabacea?. Some idea of the immense 

 amount of change this book would introduce into the bot- 

 any of the South may be gleaned from the fact that in ad- 

 dition to a large number of new genera and species there 

 are more than six hundred new combinations of generic 

 and specific names. It is fairly- well printed, though it 

 is manifestly too great an undertaking for the companj' 



