REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS. 59 



twist during dehiscence. The stigmas are exposed only u day or 

 two before the petals fall. When the petals spread widely, these 

 stigmas are by no means sure to be pollinated by an entering guest; 

 those that come for pollen seek the center but would visit older 

 flowers only by mistake, while those that come for honey need not be 

 large, since the honey is excluded only by short, dense hairs. Nor 

 is honey plentiful, although served so very attractively, and I do not 

 find Mariposas generally much frequented by insects. I watched 

 this species but once under conditions favorable to insect visits, and 

 saw a few flowers visited by hive bees and anthophoras. These 

 flowers happened to have narrow entrances, and the stigmas in the 

 older flowers were probably touched by the bees. The flowers close 

 two or three hours before sunset, and, as the corollas store the pollen 

 falling from the anthers, insects that avail themselves of the shelter 

 of the flowers at night would be likely to efiect close pollination in 

 the older flowers. 



Alium Pareyi, Wats., is not rare and has large and very fra- 

 grant flowers, with abundant honey. The large anthers are slightly 

 exserted and remain for several days entirely covered with coarse 

 pollen; but the styles are so erratic as to length and position that it 

 is difiicult to draw any conclusions as to the method of pollination. 

 The stigmas may be beyond, within, above, below or among the 

 anthers. I observed the plants only during the day, and saw only 

 bees visit them in a casual way. 



REVIEWS AND CRITICISMS. 



Laboratory Practice for Beginners in Botany. By William 

 Albert Setchell, Professor of Botany in the University of 

 California. MacMillan & Co., New York. 

 The word "laboratory" always suggests extensive preparations. 

 A vision of rows of compound microscopes and all kinds of ap- 

 paratus arises before the eye. The author's plan, however, while 

 requiring abundant material with which to work, demands only the 

 simplest tools. A note-book, pencils, eraser, dissecting needles, a 

 pair of forceps, a magnifying glass, and a sharp knife, scalpel or 

 razor are all that are needed. 



