Jime 9, 1887] 



NA TURE 



123 



In such an onerous task as that of describing this mass 

 of varied forms, one always, as the author observes, " runs 

 the risk of either doing too much or too little in the way 

 of creating species " ; but he contents himself with the 

 reflection that in the light of the theory of descent this 

 danger is of little consequence. 



In the carrying out of the troublesome duty of making 

 the many thousands of requiied measurements, the author 

 gratefully thanks his friend Dr. Reinhold Teuscher, of 

 Jena, for the patient and careful manner in which he per- 

 formed this part of the wor''C. The figures of new species, 

 about 1600 in number, which appear in the atlas accom- 

 panying the Report, were nearly all drawn with the 

 camera, partly by Mr. A. Giltsch and partly by Prof. 

 Haeckel ; but the former has drawn all the figures on the 

 stone in a very masterly way, so that the illustrations pre- 

 sent a splendid series of beautiful forms, li':e the stars in 

 the firmament for number, and surpassing these in the 

 wonderful diversity and complexity of their outlines. 



It was indeed a fortunate circumstance that so dis- 

 tinguished a naturalist, with such an intimate know- 

 ledge of the Radiolaria, should have been willing to 

 undertake such a task, and exceedingly fortunate for 

 science that he should have been enabled thus to 

 finish it. 



A GERMAN TREATISE ON THE VEGETABLE 



KINGDOM. 

 Die natiirlichen P/lamen/amilien. Von A. Engler und 



K. Prantl, (Leipzig; Engelmann, 1887, &c., being 



issued in numbers at irregular intervals.) 



WITH the first three numbers of the above-named 

 work, which are now before us, Profs. Engler 

 and Prantl have embarked on an enterprise of some mag- 

 nitude. The editors, having recognized the want of a 

 comprehensive treatise, in German, on the Vegetable 

 Kingdom, which should at once be scientifically sound, 

 and yet be written in a style suitable for the use of those 

 who are not professed botanists, have determined to meet 

 that want. With this object they have enlisted the 

 assistance of a number of collaborators : anyone who is 

 conversant with the literature of Botany produced in 

 Germany in recent years will see, on reading the list of 

 names, that Dr. Engler has secured the cooperation of 

 a very powerful staff, including many of the most pro- 

 minent representatives of the science in that country. 



With their aid the editors propose to produce a work, 

 extending to some 5000 pages octavo : the whole is to be 

 divided into five parts, one of which will be devoted to the 

 Cryptogams, under the editorship of Prof. Prantl ; one will 

 ;reat of the Gymnosperms and Monocotyledons, and the 

 remaining three of the Dicotyledons, under the editorship 

 Df Prof Engler. The production of the several parts 

 kvill proceed simultaneously, and they will appear in 

 humbers, at intervals during the next five or six years : 

 ^ the distribution of the cost (which in itself is not 

 cessive, considering the quality and extent of the work) 

 )ver a lengthened period, will bring the book within the 

 each of a wide constituency. 



The first three numbsrs will give some idea of what will 

 )e the scope and character of the work as a whole. One 

 )f these is the first instalment of the Palmce, by Dr. 



Drude. It opens with twenty-six pages of text, illus- 

 trated by numerous carefully chosen and excellent wood- 

 cuts, on the morphology and anatomy of the vegetative 

 organs, the inflorescence, fruit, and seed of the plants of 

 this order ; then follow notes on the distribution, affini- 

 ties, and uses of the family, and finally its classification. 

 A detailed description of the genera succeeds this general 

 treatment, and it is illustrated by numerous good figures 

 representing the habit of the plants, and dissections of 

 their flowers : this will, in fact, be som6what like an illus- 

 trated and abbreviated " Genera Plantarum," written in 

 German, and in a semi-popular though sound style. 



The second number issued contains the yuncacea, by 

 F. Buchenau, and the Stemonacece and Liliacecs by Dr. 

 Engler. The subject-matter is treated in the same spirit 

 as the above, and it may be assumed that this method 

 will be pursued throughout the whole work. 



But a more special interest attaches to the number 

 which was third in its order of issue ; and that on two 

 distinct grounds : first, because from it we gain a more 

 general idea of the plan and scope of the work, and secondly 

 because it is chiefly the work, and probably the last work, 

 of the late Prof. Eichler, a botanist whose loss will be 

 very widely felt (see Nature, vol. xxxv. p. 493)- 



The first pages of this number, written by Dr. Engler, 

 give in brief the general plan of the whole work ; the 

 main lines of classification being those in common use, 

 though some of the terms used have not as yet been 

 generally accepted. They are as follow : — 



I. Mycetozoa. 

 II. Thallophyta: 



(a) Schizophyta. 

 {b) Alg^. 



{c) Fungi. 



III, Embryophyta zoidiogama (= Archegoniatae) : 



{a) Bryophyta. 



[b) Pteridophyta. 



IV. Embryophyta siphonogama (= Phanerogamae) : 



(a) Gymnospermae (= Archispermae). 

 {b) Angiospermse (= Metaspermae). 



Then follows the general treatment of the Gymnospermae, 

 of which four classes are distinguished, the Cycadinae, 

 Cordaitinae, Coniferinas, and Gnetales. It is worthy of 

 note that here the fossil forms are taken into account, 

 and Cordaitinae, as well as fossil forms of the Cycadaceae 

 and Coniferae, are described in their proper places. It will 

 be unnecessary after what has already been said to follow 

 the mode of treatment of the Gymnosperms further ; 

 suffice it to say that, while due prominence is given to the 

 external morphology and classification, the results of 

 recent investigation on the development of the sporangia 

 and embryo find a place, eg. those of Treub and 

 Warming on the Cycads, and of Strasburger and others 

 on the Coniferae, A peculiar interest will attach to the 

 pages on the morphology of the female cone in the Coni- 

 ferae, since this will be the last expression of the opinion 

 of Eichler on a subject to which he had devoted special 

 attention. 



While extending a welcome to this new enterprise, 

 we may compare it with other undertakings of a some- 

 what similar nature. Among the comprehensive classi- 

 ficatory works of recent years, the most prominent is 



