36 THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



Book Review. 



Plant Relations. A First Book of Botany. By John M. Coulter, A.M., 

 Ph.D., Head Professor of Botany, University of Chicago. Crown 8vo, 

 264 pages. Illustrated. D. Appleton and Company. New York, 

 The production of text-books of Natural Science for the young is multi- 

 plying enormously. The present work is one of the best of its kind. The 

 facts, regarding the plant world, which were gathered by such observers 

 as Darwin, Kerner von Marilaun and William Hamilton Gibson, and 

 presented by each in his own inimitable manner, have had an immense 

 influence in causing dry professorial instincts to become quickened to the 

 realization that the plant world is active with interest, and is not a gloss- 

 ary graveyard of dry definitions. The influence, more particularly of 

 Kerner's Pflanzenleben^ so ably translated by Oliver, has created a number 

 of abbreviated replicas of that magnificent work. The present work owes 

 much to Kerner, especially in the facts, now so widely termed Ecology, 

 but which old plant lovers understood as " Botany;" but it is not a servile 

 copy but a carefully selected and wisely planned text-book. 



The complete work is divided into two books, each adapted to one-half 

 year's work, the first is devoted more particularly to the study of ecology, 

 with related physiological teachings, while the study of plant structure or 

 morphology is to be more distinctly elaborated in the second book of the 

 course. Book I. is the part under discussion. Speaking first of the most 

 striking feature in this volume, the highest praise should be given to 

 its pictorial completeness. The good illustrations, mainly half-tones 

 from photographs, stamp the volume as perhaps the best illustrated text- 

 book for intermediary and high schools that has yet appeared. 



The text is simple and direct, at times it slips into the extreme technical 

 form of presentation, which for the scope of the volume should be avoided, 

 but for the great part the author has carefully scanned his audience and 

 applied his teaching to their capabilities. We very heartily commend 

 this volume, and, although different classes of students need different 

 text-books of varying degrees of technicality, yet we would like to see more 

 text-books of this type. 



JELLIFFE. 



Poisonous Plants. — The Botanist of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, in his report for 1899, states that 67 cases of poisoning by plants 

 were investigated by his department, against 41 in 1898, and 34 in 1897. 

 Of these, 41 pertained to men and 26 to farm stock. The fatalities in- 

 cluded more than 4000 farm animals and 21 humans. The percentage 

 in England is about half as large. H. H. R. 



