1 82 The Botanical Gazette. [June- 



vast, and the leaven is so small, that organized effort on the part of 

 leaders in scientific work might hasten the movement. 



* * * 



The second part of Prof. Conway MacMillan's paper on "the three 

 months course in botany" appears in Education for April. Had we 

 anticipated another installment, we should have avoided a premature 

 criticism, even inferentially, of his views, which are shown to be essen- 

 tially in accord with those of the Gazette, ante, p. 120. 



CURRENT LITERATURE. 



Trelease on Epilobium. 1 



This is one of the most complete and satisfactory monographs we 

 have seen. The genus is one of most perplexing character, for the 

 species intergrade interminably. The author has wisely restrained 

 himself from acknowledging as species all the forms that have been 

 described as such, but he has felt compelled to publish several new 

 ones. Not only is the geographical distribution of the species briefly 

 considered, but the biological features connected with means of vege- 

 tative propagation, pollination, and dissemination, are noticed with 

 that wealth of information and literature known to be in the posses- 

 sion of the author. The range is that of Gray's Synoptical Flora, here 

 shown to contain 38 species of Epilobium. The new species are 

 E. ursinum, E. holosericeum, E. delicatum, and E. clavatum, the first 

 two from California, the others from the extreme N. W. states. Four- 

 teen of the species admitted are those of Haussknecht. It would be 

 impossible here to enumerate the changes in nomenclature involved 

 by this monograph, as there has been such a confusion of names that 

 only the monograph itself can make them clear. The names as they 

 appear in Watson's Bibliographical Index are not very materially 

 changed, but the separation of unrecognized species by Haussknecht 

 has added many new names to that list. The illustration of every 

 species is a very valuable feature of the work; and this leads us to 

 remark, that accurate figures should be more extensively used in such 

 monographs; for however faulty the text may be, good figures are 

 records of facts that cannot well change, and are only second in value 

 to the plants themselves. 



^ 



•Trelease, William— The species of Epilobium occurring north of MelicoT 

 50 pp. 48 plates : 8 vo. [Reprinted from second annual report of the Mo. Bot. 

 Garden : issued April 22, 1801.] 



