AORTCULTURAL BOTANY. 927 



AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. 



The heredity of acquired characters in plants, G. Henslow {London, 1908, 

 pp. XII + 107. pis. 2.'f). — Tht' obji'ct of this book is to i»rove that evolution, so far 

 as plants are concerned, depends upon the iuheritaiu-e of aciiuiretl characters. 

 The author points out that Darwin snp|ileiiieiited his theory of the origin of 

 species by means of natural selection by other interpretations of the methods of 

 evolution. lie considers that the i)resent i)osition of ecologists, in accepting the 

 fact that evolution in plants is the result, not only of a natural respon.se to the 

 direct action of changed conditions of life by means of which they evolved new 

 structures in adaptation to their new environments, but also of the heritability 

 of these acquired characters is in exact accord with the alternative suggested by 

 Darwin himself. 



A laboratory course in plant physiology, W. F. (Jan-ono (Xcw York. 1i>0>\, 

 2. ed., pp. VI-\-2(J5, pis. 3, figs. 68). — This edition of the laboratory guide has been 

 rewritten and much extended from the first edition. The objects, as stated by 

 the author, are to lead students through a good laboratory course in plant 

 physiology, to provide a handbook of information upon all phases of plant 

 physiology having an educational interest, and to serve as a guide to self- 

 etlucation by ambitious teachers or students who are unable to obtain regular 

 instruction. The book is not designed as a compendium of physiological knowl- 

 eilge nor as a handbook of investigation, but rather as a guide tt) the acquisition 

 of a physiological education. 



An introduction to experimental plant morphology, K. Gokbkl {Einlcitiing 

 in die r.riH'rhin'iifcUc MorpUolofiic dcr r/ltnizcn. Lcipsic (tnd Berlin, ]!K)8, pp. 

 Vlll + iUO, figs. 1,35). — After discussing the general i)roblems of experimental 

 morphology, the author considers at length the influence of external and internal 

 conditions on leaf formation, the conditions necessary for the formation of 

 terminal and lateral axes, the regeneration of tissues, and the influence of 

 polarity, etc., on plants, the book in its present form being an expansion of a 

 course of lectures given by the author in inO('»-7. 



The absorption of rain and dew by the green parts of plants, (i. IIknslow 

 {Jour. Roy. Ilort. ^oe. [London], ,3'/ ilDOS), Xo. 2, pp. 167-178). — By a series of 

 exi>erinients with detached i)ortions of various species of plants, the auth<u" is 

 convinced that the j)ower of absorption of water, either in the form of dew or 

 rain, is possessed by the epidermis of the internodes of herbaceous plants and 

 by attached and detached leaves. He claims that " there are ample reasons 

 for believing that dew and rain are, when absorption has bi>en deficient, ab- 

 sorbetl and utilized to supplement the normal root supply." 



Root development, X. O. Booth ( Xeic York ^St(lte Stu. Rpt. 1907, pt. ,3, 

 pp. .3'i.'j-.3'i9). — A summary is given of investigations carried on at the station, 

 most of which have been printed in tin? earlier reports, showing the distribution 

 of roots in vertical and horizontal directions in the soil, the variation of root 

 distribution due to cultivation, etc. 



Some chemical processes in the germination of seed, F. Sci'rti and A. Pab- 

 ROzzANi {(iaz. Vhim. Ital., 38 {1908), I, No. 2, pp. 2 1 6-227 ) .—The authors de- 

 scribe some of the chenncal changes which take i»lace din-ing the germinatiou 

 of sunflower seed, and the action of light and darkness upon the changes noted. 

 The exjieriments were conductetl iirincipally to determine the transformation of 

 proteid nitrogen. 



The transformation of cyanogenetic glucosids during germination, 

 L. (JiKiNAun (Coniiii. Rend. Aciid. Kci. \l'(iris\. I ',7 (HKIS). Vo. 22. pi>. fO'.i 

 1028). — In order to determine the question of the transl'ornintion of cyanoge- 



