THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 57 



When the reaction from flower analysis came, the ma- 

 jority went in for physiological and morphological botany, 

 until this side of the subject m some institutions, became as 

 much over done as was the other. Pupils left school after a 

 course in botany with certain ideas about plants it is true, 

 but incapable of distinguishing a dandelion from a daisy or of 

 finding out how to do so. To them the wonderful features of 



plant life were so much vegetation and nothing more. 



* * * 



There are teachers, however, who still insist that the boy 

 or girl who has had botany in school should be able, later in 

 life to recognize noxious weeds at sight, to make a botanical 

 specimen that can be identified by the nearest agricultural ex- 

 periment station when they turn to it for help, to know a 

 poisonous plant from a harmless one, and last but not least, to 

 be familiar with the more noticeable species of herbs, shrubs 

 and trees in their vicinity. The need for such knowledge is 

 urged not solely upon the grounds of utility, though utility 

 alone is sufficient, but because of the simple delights that an 



acquaintance with the flowers adds to life. 



* * * 



BOOKS AND WRITERS. 



"Who's Who Among the Ferns" is the title under which 

 W. J. Beecroft has issued a series of drawings of our native 

 ferns with short discriptions of their form, range and time of 

 fruiting. The book is a small 12mo. intended for use in the 

 field, arid is published by Moffat, Yard & Co., at $1.00 net. 



Many of our readers still remember with pleasure the 

 regular visits of Meehans' Monthly and regret its untimely 

 end. After the lapse of some years the house of Meehan has 

 again entered the publishing field. This time it is an excellent 

 monthly publication named Meehans' Garden Bulletin. This 

 is evidently designed primarily to augment the sales of the 

 Meehan nurseries, but its pages contain a wealth of practical 



