THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 91 



be seen with the result that the pupil was usually willing to 

 take the word of the book for it and rarely got up interest 

 enough to investigate for himself. More recently a new type 

 of manual is beginning to appear. In this the pupil is given a 

 series of outlines containing questions that can only be an- 

 swered by a careful study of proper material. At last botany 

 has become a live study. There is now a object in studying 

 plants not connected with the requirements of the teacher. 

 Something new is to be discovered daily and discovered in 

 such a \v3.y that it does not easily slip out of the memory. The 

 great object now is to so word the questions that none of the 

 pleasures of discovery shall be with-held from the pupil. To 

 meet this demand there is now offered a little manual entitled 

 "Laboratory Botany for the High School" by Willard N. 

 Clute. It is published by Ginn & Co., and aspires to cover a 

 year's course in botany, but is is so arranged that the first part 

 of the book will properly fit the course in schools where but a 

 half year is devoted to the subject. It should meet the wants 

 of the inexperienced teacher, espcially, since it gives a list of 

 materials needed for each study, tells where to get and how to 

 preserve them and how to present the subject in 

 class. It can be used with excellent results in schools 

 lacking laboratory facilities as no complicated apparatus 

 is required for the work outlined. In addition it 

 will fit practically any text. The second part of the book is 

 devoted to the evolution of the plant world, beginning with 

 the simplest types and tracing the rise of flowering plants by 

 studies of typical specimens of algae, mosses, ferns, fern allies, 

 etc. The book contains several unique features, among which 

 may be mentioned a list of definitions following each study, a 

 key to the trees, outlines for floral ecology and tables of plant 

 groups. It is written by a high school teacher for high school 

 pupils with the sincere wish that by its use the study of plants 

 mav o:ain in attractiveness. 



