110 THE JoiiHX.W, OF BOTANY 



siology, and Part III. on outlines of classification. The treatment 

 in detail suggests a student's notes of a lecture course, the illustra- 

 tions representing the lecturer's diagrams. It will be helpful in so 

 far as it serves to recall to the student the work he has done in the 

 class-room or the field, or as suggesting what might he called a 

 normal course of botany for a teacher. But the individual sections 

 will need much expansion and explanation. 



.Air. Perciyal Ashton's Selbome Botanv falls into the same (diss 

 as the preceding, though it is on a less amhitious scale and adapted 

 for heginners. Mr. Ashton has accumulated a large number of 

 photographs, many of them very good, illustrating the form and 

 structure of flowering plants, and to some extent also their life- 

 history and functions. These he has arranged in the form of an 

 elementary text-book with accompanying letterpress. In the hands 

 of a capable teacher it may serve as outlining a course for be°-inners 

 on the lines which are ordinarily followed in schools ; but it is hardly 

 a book to put into the hands of an elementary student. 



Apart from the alteration in the title", the second edition of 

 Dr. Martin's text-book differs from the first in the addition of a 

 chapter on variation and some changes in the presentation of the 

 subjects of heredity and evolution. The subject-matter and arrange- 

 ment generally remain practically the same, but many of the illustra- 

 tions have been replaced by either new or improved ones, and several 

 portions of the text have been rewritten. The title has been changed, 

 as the former title, 'Botany of Agricultural Students,' might seem 

 to imply a special kind of Botany, rather than the general principles 

 of _ Botany so presented as to apply to practical affairs. The chief 

 object in the botanical instruction of agricultural students is to 

 teach the facts of botany, but these can be taught better if related to 

 practical affairs, and hence the reason for choosing illustrations and 

 presenting the subject matter so as to relate to praetical problems. 

 Whatever the aims of the student may be the fundamental principles 

 of botany are the same. That the book has been well received is 

 evident from the need for a new edition after about eighteen months ■ 

 and the indication " total issue six thousand " which appears on the 

 titlepage of the new edition suggests a continued demand. 



The subject-matter is arranged in two parts, the first dealing with 

 structure and function, the second with kinds, relationships, evolution, 

 and heredity. A considerable proportion of the space is occupied by 

 the illustrations, which are well-selected and very clear. In selecting 

 examples and illustrations the author has chosen plants of economic 

 use or interest ; and matters of practical importance, such, for instance, 

 as pruning, germination of seeds, and the like are treated more fully! 

 The text is remarkably clear, and the volume will supply the American 

 agricultural student with a useful insight into the botanical principles 

 of his subject. 



A. B. K. 



