ECOLOGY. 347 



To be of real service, any taxonomic treatment must be expressed in 

 a forai that can be readily used by a large number of people. The 

 prevalent method of singling out the more striking variations of a 

 group, and describing them as species with little regard to the constancy 

 of their characters, or to their relationships, leads only to confusion. 

 It is certain that a vast majority of people who have occasion to use 

 botanical names are discouraged by the enormous number presented 

 in recent taxonomic treatises. In the present series of monographs 

 special attention has been paid to putting these segregates back into 

 the species to which they belong, though the segregates themselves are 

 recognized when they have varietal rank. By this synthetic method 

 the total number of binomials is greatly reduced, and yet it is with only 

 this smaller number that most botanists and other plant scientists will 

 need to deal. In short, the authors have endeavored to work out a sys- 

 tem which will take care of all possible degrees of scientific analysis and 

 at the same time maintain the very essence of taxonomy, namely, evolu- 

 tionary relationship and classification. While the speciaUst may divide 

 and subdivide his species as he chooses, the species still remains for the 

 general botanist and scientist, who is concerned only with the major 

 units of a flora or vegetation. Furthermore, it is felt that the analysis 

 of species can not properly be made by the usual method, but that 

 it necessarily involves extensive field and garden stud}', together with 

 the application of statistical methods. 



In addition to the three genera mentioned above, the Haplopappus 

 group of the Composites has been given considerable attention and a 

 foundation laid for monographic treatment. This will follow the lines 

 indicated above, but is especially designed to illustrate the treatment 

 of closely related groups, sometimes regarded as distinct genera and 

 sometimes as sections of one inclusive genus. 



Taxonomy of the Madiece. by H. M. Hall. 



The Madieae, or true tarweeds, form a subtribe of the Composites, 

 confined almost exclusively to the Pacific coast of North America, but 

 cultivated to some extent in Europe and elsewhere for their oil and 

 flowers. Because of the attention given to the groups above, it has 

 been impossible to continue the detailed study of these plants. How- 

 ever, the garden cultures assembled at the University of California 

 prior to 1917 have been continued, and field studies have been made as 

 opportunity offered. It is hoped to resume the investigation of the 

 gi'oup at an early date, and to give special attention to geographic 

 distribution and its relation to species. The garden experiments 

 will be can'ied on in an extensive manner for the purpose of throwing 

 light upon the constancy of the taxonomic characters employed. 



