412 SYNOPSIS DER MITTELEUEOPAISCHEN FLORA. 



time ill his arduous task, and may be expected fully to justify the 

 hopes of the author and the publisher, and not less of the large 

 circle of students who are more immediately interested in the pro- 

 gress of the work. On the other hand, we trust that it will not 

 lose that elaboration and learning which are characteristic of 

 Ascherson's methods, though they may occasionally lead him away 

 into the regions of irrational purism or over-erudition, and en- 

 cumber his work by a profusion of details. 



The present double part finishes the vascular cryptogams, and 

 contains the Gi/mnospenim and the first three orders of the Mono- 

 cotyledons, viz. Ti/p/uwece., SpanjaniacecE, and a portion of the Pota- 

 vwijetomiceiB. Seventeen species and seven subspecies of Coniferm 

 are described as indigenous within the area of the Si/nopsis, and 

 thirty-seven foreign species which are more or less frequently culti- 

 vated, while many more are mentioned in short notes. If intro- 

 duced species are taken up at all, much cannot be said against this 

 vast number of foreign Conifera, considering the important place 

 they occupy in horticulture, and, in Germany at least, also in 

 experimental forestry ; but we are afraid this practice will, if con- 

 sistently carried out through the whole work, swell its volume 

 enormously, whilst the horticulturist and the forest ofticer will still 

 have to consult their special books. Gnetacem are represented by 

 three species and two subspecies ; Typliacece by five indigenous 

 species and one foreign species, which is likely to occur within 

 the area of the Synopsis ; and SparyaniacecB by five species and three 

 subspecies. 



Space forbids us to discuss in detail the contents of these two 

 parts. They are quite up to date, as shown by the reference to 

 Ikeno's and Hirase's discovery of the spermatozoids of Giwjko and 

 Cycas, and the abundance of information, sometimes compressed 

 into single paragraphs, and the accompanying foot-notes, is as- 

 tonishing, if not at first bewildering. 



The subdivisions of the species, such as subspecies, varieties, 

 &c., is in some cases carried very far. One instance may suffice. 

 Junipeius communis coni'pvises (a) J unipents communis proper and (b) 

 Juniperus communis nana. The former is subdivided thus : A. i. 

 Weclcii {a, — proper), h. oblonya ii. a. elonrjata, b. ruhjaris (1, — proper) 

 2. suecica, 3. hibcrnica, 4. pendnla {ci, — proper) b. latifolia, c. pro- 

 strata, and the "lusus" coronata and thy iocar pa. B. i. brevifolia, 

 II. a. intermedia (1, — proper), 2. compressa, 3. hemisphcBrica, 4. de- 

 IJressa. Of collective species (Gesammtarten), there are compara- 

 tively few (nine) in these two parts. The typographical arrange- 

 ment of so many subdivisions, if not accompanied by a synoptical 

 table, is very difficult, and, however cleverly devised, apt to confuse 

 occasionally the student, particularly if he uses the work only for 

 reference. In this respect, however, the authors have been more 

 fortunate than in the preceding parts. A decided improvement is 

 also noticeable in the abbreviations, and the more limited use of the 

 "a. a. 0." (loco citato), although our patience is still taxed severely 

 in a few cases, as, for instance, on p. 190, line 8 from below, where 

 the reference "Hock, a. a. 0. 334, 335" carries the reader back 



