CURRENT LITERATURE. 



Forest Physiography : Physiography of the United States and 

 Principles of Soils in Relation to Forestry. By Isaiah Bowman, 

 Ph. D. New York, 191 1. John Wiley & Sons. Pp. I-XXII— 

 579 ; plates 5, figures 292. Price $5.00. 



As stated in the preface, the title "Forest Physiography" does 

 not imply a book on forestry but rather a book on physiography 

 for students of forestry. And again, on page 108 we find the 

 statement that the single object of the book is to acquaint the 

 forester with the geographic basis of his work with such refer- 

 ences to the forests as point the direction of his special studies. 

 No attempt is made to discuss regional ecology or the principles 

 of ecology, the ecology of the forest being regarded as a subject 

 possessing a body of facts and laws of its own. The book, how- 

 ever, is full of data useful to the student of forest ecology. 



The contents of the book are divided into two parts. Part 

 One — The soil ; Part Two — Physiography of the United States. 

 The point of view of the discussion of soil relations may be ex- 

 pressed by such statements as: * * * "the physiographic 

 features and related soil types are of more local development than 

 the broad forest type which they support. The finer distinctions 

 between soil types are of little value in understanding the range 

 of a given forest type, however directly they may affect the wel- 

 fare of the individual by modifying its habitat. In short, it may 

 be said that the conditions which limit either the growth or the 

 distribution of most forest species are so extreme that they 

 embrace or overlap a large number of physical sub-divisions. 

 The forester requires a scientific knowledge of soils and climates, 

 but in the final application of his knowledge to the distribution 

 and growth of forests, it is often necessary for him to employ 

 somewdiat broader generalizations than those employed by the 

 geographer and the botanist for the special purposes of their 

 sciences." 



In the table on page 25, we find that the North American con- 

 tinent may be divided as follows: Alluvial regions; (i) loam 



