126 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



familiar spore plants and some consideration of their evolu- 

 tion. The new book differs from the old principally in the 

 method of approach, which is now mainly inductive, and in the 

 constant association of the work with industrial commercial 

 and agricultural processes all of which adds to its value for 

 school use. There is noted, however, a tendency to refer the 

 students to books in a search for much information that, while 

 possibly interesting- or entertaining, is not worth while in com- 

 parison with what might be learned at first hand in the labora- 

 tory in the time necessary to run down second-hand informa- 

 tion in books. In the opinion of the reviewer too much space 

 is given to a study of flowers and too great emphasis placed 

 upon the characteristics of the various plant families. More- 

 over some of the species suggested for study, such as the milk- 

 weeds, are rarely in flower during the school year. There are 

 various loose expressions here and there in the book which we 

 have no doubt will be corrected in later editions. References 

 to the "spicy" juice of crucifers, "cacti plants" the unusual 

 spelling of nightshade, the placing of the gladiolus corm with 

 bulbs, the spelling of some generic names without capitals and 

 the statement that plums and cherries are usually multiplied 

 by grafting may be cited as instances. Nor is the inference 

 that ordinary trees will produce logs in twelve years that will 

 square twelve inches likely to be realized. In our opinion, 

 also, the study of the pine seed should be relegated to the 

 special study of gymnosperms since in the study of stems, 

 leaves and flowers the pine is scarcely mentioned. The book, 

 however, is a vast improvement over the original work and 

 the small blemishes detected are not sufficient to impair the use- 

 fulness of this excellent presentation of botany for the high 

 school. The book is a 12mo. of 160 pages and costs 60 cents. 

 It is issued by Ginn & Co., Boston. 



The appearance of the "Spring Flora of the Intermoun- 

 tain States" by Aven Nelson directs the attention anew to the 

 fact that in many parts of our country the identification of 



