2l6 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tion to physiology and morphology. 

 The taxonomy of some of the more im- 

 portant families of seed plants is dis- 

 cussed in a special section. The author 

 pays tribute to the present leaning to- 

 ward ecology by chapters on seed dis- 

 tribution, the struggle for the occupancy 

 of land, zonal distribution, soil forma- 

 tion in rocky regions and moors, plant 

 communities, and adaptations of plants 

 to climate. 



In 'Nature and Work of Plants' 

 (Macmillan) Dr. MacDougal approaches 

 the subject of botany by a study of the 

 functions of the plant, of the things 

 which it must do to live and adapt itself 

 to its surroundings. Such an intro- 

 duction to the subject from the physio- 

 logical point of view is a radical inno- 

 vation in the matter of elementary 

 texts. A second departure from the 

 practice of current texts is the omission 

 of illustrations, in order that the at- 

 tention of the student may not be dis- 

 tracted from the plant at work by a 

 picture of something it has done. The 

 technique is simple and the book seems 

 well-fitted to awaken enthusiastic in- 

 terest and lead the student further into 

 the subject. Chapters are devoted to 

 such subjects as: composition and pur- 

 poses of plants, the manner in which 

 the different kinds of work are divided 

 among the members of the body, the 

 way in which new plants arise, and the 

 relations of plants to each other. 



Miss Alice Lounsberry's 'Guide to 

 the Trees' (Stokes & Co.) is an example 

 of a type of popular books in botany in- 

 dispensable to the amateur, and of great 

 value to the working botanist. Nearly 

 two hundred species, including shrubs, 

 have been described. "Among them 

 are all those most prominent in north- 

 eastern America, and a few distinctive 

 or rare species from the South and 

 West. Several also that are not in- 

 digenous but which have become identi- 

 fied with the tree life of this country 

 are presented." The author has grouped 

 forms of similar habit together in such 



manner that sections are devoted to: 

 Trees preferring to grow in moist soil, 

 lowlands and meadows; trees preferring 

 to grow near water, in swamps, and 

 running streams; trees preferring to 

 grow in rich soil, in forests and thickets, 

 and trees preferring to grow in light, 

 dry soil and upland places. The general 

 notes of information appended to the 

 technical descriptions add much to the 

 reading value of the book, which is beau- 

 tifully illustrated by sixty- four colored 

 plates, after paintings by Mrs. Rowan, 

 and a hundred sketches in black and 

 white. 



The amount of interest centered in 

 the preservation of the forests of the 

 national domain, and the establishment 

 of forestry in the courses of several 

 educational institutions, makes Mr. 

 Bruncken's 'North American Forests 

 and Forestry' (Putnam & Sons) most 

 timely. The author discusses the soci- 

 ological aspects of forestry, and the dis- 

 tribution of forests in North America. 

 It is of interest to note that the forest 

 is treated as a living plant formation 

 subject to many vicissitudes in the 

 struggle for existence with neighboring 

 societies of plants, particularly with the 

 bog and prairie. The fate of the forest 

 in front of the advancing pioneer is well 

 delineated, and forest finance manage- 

 ment and protection are most sensibly 

 considered. Perhaps no other work of- 

 fers the citizen such a rational pre- 

 sentation of all aspects of the numerous 

 questions involved in forestry as the 

 one under discussion. 



Sachs's 'Physiology of Plants' has 

 long been a classic among botanists be- 

 cause of the immense amount of new re- 

 sults which were brought out in its 

 pages, marking the dawn of a new epoch 

 in the history of botanical investigation. 

 A large share of its conclusions have 

 become invalidated by the general ad- 

 vance of the subject, however, and the 

 next most notable work, Pfeffer's 'Plant 

 Physiology,' is one which is bound to 

 exert even a more lasting influence in 



