BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 197 



seen to shake and tremble like a bowl of gelatine jelly. This little 

 experiment is easily tried and may be new to some. — C. R. B. 



Reports upon the Botanical Collections Made in Portions of Ne- 

 vada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, during 

 tiie years 1871-75. By J. T. Rothrock. — This forms the sixth volume 

 of the P'inal Reports of the Wheeler Survey and is a work of over 

 400 pages, containing 30 plates drawn by Isaac Sprague and W. H. 

 Seaman. There are four chapters and an Appendix. Chapter first 

 contains some general notes on Colorado, such as the flora of the* 

 open ground, the flora of the mountains, timber and agricultural re- 

 sources. Chapter second contains notes of the same general natur:^ 

 upon New Mexico, including also some of Arizona. Chapter third 

 contains notes on the Economic Botany of the region included in 

 the report. In this about 35 sjDecies are enumerated as being either 

 already in use or worthy of use. Chapter fourth, containing the bulk 

 of the volume, is devoted to the catalogue. In this we have work 

 credited to ten botanists besides Dr. Rothrock himself. To Sereno 

 Watson were entrusted the Leguniinosfi"i to Dr. Englemann the Car- 

 if'H'^ Asdepiadace^^ Gentiane^e, Cuscidefe, Enpliorhiacesp, Cvpulifcra', 

 fjjranthacefc, Conifenr, AmaryUideR' and Junceip ; to Frof. Porter, the 

 Polemoniacece^ Bor?'a</iu'acece, ScroplvulariaceRu LahiatiB and Polygon- 

 (icese ; to M. S. Bebb, the Salicaccfr ; to Wm. Boott, tlie genus Carer ; 

 to Dr. Vasey, the G r amine cb ; to Prof. Eaton, the Filirei^ and OpJiioy- 

 l.ossaceiv ; to TIios. P. James, the Mn.sci ; to Prof. Tuckerman, the LirJi- 

 caes ; and to C. F. Austin, the Hepaticie. Credit to whom credit is 

 due is a maxim that has been closely followed in this volume and we 

 are never at a loss to know just whose work we are examining. It is 

 a pity that the scope of the volume had not been extended enough 

 to include all the collections ever made in the region eml)raced in 

 the report. It Avould then have been complete as far as it went, and 

 filled another gap in our scattered flora, 'i'he Ferns are more ela))or- 

 ately reported upon than any other order, for we have a full report 

 not only ol' those collected by the Wheeler Surveys, but of all Ferns 

 lutiierto discovered in (he regions lying wesl of 105 degrees west lon- 

 iiitude and soutli of 40 degrees north latitude. As many of these 

 ferns are described in works inaccessible to tlicordinary l)otanist, de- 

 scriptions are given of all not found in Gray's Manual. All this is a 

 very grand thing in itself and botanists will rejoice in having so com- 

 plete a work upon the ferns of that curious and immense region, but 

 it strikes one as being out dif proportion with the rest of the woi-k. 



