I 



BOOK REVIEWS 13^ 



" Outfits for Beginners in Bee Culture," both of which are free 

 to those interested. M. A. B. 



Manual of the Trees of North America. By Charles S. Sargent. 

 Boston, Houghton, Mifflin. 1905. Pp. 826, fig. 644. $6.00. 

 Professor Sargent's " Manual of the Trees of North America " 

 is a welcome addition to any nature-study library. Giving in 

 condensed form the substance of the author's standard " Silva 

 of North America," this manual is of convenient size for handy 

 reference. Trees of all regions of North America, exclusive 

 of Mexico, are included and their identification is facilitated by 

 reference to a regional map of the tree vegetation. The book is 

 thus of more general use than any of the small manuals published 

 heretofore. An analytical key to the families based on arrange- 

 ment and character of the leaves, and keys to genera and species 

 are given. The species are illustrated by Mr. Charles E. Faxon 

 with drawings of leaf, flower and fruit. What may seem to the 

 general reader like a disproportionate amount of space is given 

 to the 132 species of Crataegus out of the total 630 species de- 

 scribed, but the book is, nevertheless, by no means too technical 

 or special and will be found useful by all persons who are inter- 

 ested in out-of-door things. A. Watterson. 



Nature-Study with Common Things. By M. H. Carter. N. Y., 

 American Book Co. 1904. Pp. 150, illustrated. 60 cents. 



This " laboratory guide " for young pupils, of the fourth, fifth 

 or sixth years, consists of questions and directions for practical 

 class-room study of common fruits and vegetables, such as are 

 readily obtained from the markets — blackberry, plum, pear, 

 grape, radish, potato, apple, lemon, orange, onion, beet, carrot, 

 pea, cranberry, strawberry and cherry. The aim of this work 

 is simply training and developing the power of accurate obser- 

 vation, " learning how to learn," for its own sake without regard 

 to the relative value of the facts learned. The author states that 

 " many of the observations the pupil is called upon to make in 

 these lessons bear upon no conclusion. They make no attempt 

 to explain anything, but are for the sole purpose of being made." 



Each object is to be studied in a single one-hour lesson, ex:lu- 

 sive of drawings and written work. Concerning the latter, the 

 author believes that " the teacher who sets too great a premium 

 upon the language side of nature lessons create pupils zcJw ivant 

 to see only in order to say, and their cursory and shallow observa- 



