110 THF: AMKRICAN BOTANIST 



Autumn" i? uniform with the other volumes. It is ilhistrated 

 with i)cn and ink drawings by Mary Keffer, by munerous full 

 page plates from photographs and eight colored plates. 'J lie 

 book is issued by Charles Scribners Sons at $1.75. 



A well recognized feature in the identification of the 

 mushrooms is the color of the spores which ranges from pure 

 white to various shades of red, yellow, brown and l)];!ck. 

 Another set of distinguishing marks is found in the presence 

 or absence of a volva or cuplike base, the shape of the cap. 

 tlie character of the ring about the stem, and the form and 

 attachment of the gills. It has occurred to Louis C. C. Krie- 

 ger that a simple and workable key to the mushroom genera 

 may be constructed by making five horizontal columns to rep- 

 resent the different spore colors and crossing these with a 

 sufficient number of vertical columns to indicate the struc- 

 tural differences. All that one needs to know, therefore, is 

 the spore color of his specimen. Running along this column 

 until he comes to the proper vertical column, he finds in the 

 rectangle formed by the two columns the name of tlie genus 

 to whicli the plant belongs. All this is presented in a single 

 chart about fifteen by twenty-four inches in size and contain- 

 ing 90 spaces. There are, of course, a number of si)aces in 

 which there are no names because Nature did not see fit to 

 make species with the appropriate characters, but in view of 

 the immense number of forms that she lias made we may re- 

 flect with gratitude upon her forbearance in this particular. 

 I\ach genus in the list is illustrated by an outline drawing of 

 a characteristic form and it would seem as if nobodv could 

 go astray as far as the genus at least is concerned, 'i'hc Kev 

 is btnind in board covers and is for sale at $1.00 a copy by the 

 Norman Remington Company, Baltimore. 



Dr. L. H. Railey has begun issuing a series oi papers 

 under the general title of "Gentes Herbarium." The first 



