BOTANY. 719 



The nodule organism of the LeguminosEe, R. G. Smith ( Centhl. 

 Bakt. u. Par., 2. Alt., 6(1900), M. 11, pp. 371, 372).— A brief note is 

 given of the investigations of the author on the organisms producing 

 tubercles on the roots of Leguminosa?. The organisms were grown 

 in a number of media, and the author states that the appearance of 

 these organisms depends very largely upon the medium and upon the 

 method which is emplo3'ed in preparing them for o})servation. 



As a result of his observations, he claims that these organisms are 

 true yeasts, and accounts for their different forms b}' the differences 

 produced by medium and ffxation. The motile character gf the 

 organism has been mentioned by a number of investigators, but 

 apparently no one has been able to discover the flagellum. By using 

 undiluted, young peptone-glucose cultures, ffxing in formalin and 

 staining with Coerner-Fischer stain, the author was able to discern 

 adhering to the capsule an exceedingly thin terminal flagellum about 

 2 pi long, bearing upon the distal end a tuft. The observation of the 

 delicate tilaraent is aided by the presence of this terminal tuft. 



Attempts were made to prove the fixation of nitrogen with pure 

 cultures in artificial media, but without success. In his investigations 

 Jjt/riUus incgafhiv'mni was found to accompany the tubercle organism 

 very frequently, and ffxation experiments were tried with it without 

 success. 



Agricultural botany, J. Perctval (New Yorli: Henry Holt & Co., 1900, pp. 

 XII-t798, fig>i. J65). — This work on botany by the professor of botany of the South- 

 eastern Agricultural College, Wye, England, is designed to meet the necessities of 

 agricultural students. Much of the material found in the ordinary text-books is 

 omitted and the matter arranged so as to not only cover the essentials of the science, 

 but is applied to the crops of the farm, orchard, and garden. General morphology 

 and physiology are treated at considerable length, the illustrations being drawn as 

 far as possible from the well-known plants of the field and garden. Laboratory 

 exercises are provideil, in which the subjects for study are all drawn from common 

 plants, the object being to secure familiarity with the structure and functions of the 

 plants with which the agricultural student is most familiar. The classification and 

 special botany of the principal farm crops of England are quite fully given, the 

 material being grouped by natural orders. The botanical characteristics of the plants 

 are described, their cultural varieties discussed, and notes given on their cultivation, 

 handling, and uses. Under the Graminefe special chapters are, in a similar manner, 

 devoted to the true grasses, to cereals — in which oats, barley, rye, and wheat are 

 considered — to the common grasses of the farm, and to the subject of grasses and 

 clovers for temporary and permanent pastures. Special studies are also given of the 

 weeils of the farm, farm seeds, fungi as related to farm crops, and bacteria as related 

 to farm life, in every case the practical considerations being kept in the foreground. 



Botany — an elementary text-book, L. H. Bailey {New York: The MacmUlan 

 Co., 1900, pp. XIV~ .3.5n, tig.''. oOJ). — This book is intended for the elementary student 

 and in jjopular, though exact, language describes the nature of the i)lant, its rela- 

 tions with its surroundings, the minute structure of plants, and studies of the kinds 

 of plants. The histological studies given are only those required for a proper under- 

 standing of the primary functions and actions of plants. The author does not 

 believe in the extensive use of the compomid microscope by the elementary student, 



