BOOK REVIEWS 283 



Plant Physiology with Special Reference to Plant Produc- 

 tion. Benjamin M. Duggar. pp xv-j-516, figs. 144. The Rural 

 Textbook Series, New York, 1911. The MacMillan Co. Price 

 $1,60. 



All who regard with favor the campaign for the introduc- 

 tion of agricultural instruction into our schools should welcome 

 the valuable assistance to be afforded by this new text book of 

 plant physiology with its new view point of the application of 

 this phase of science to the practical problems of plant produc- 

 tion. This method of approach has naturally led to the intro- 

 duction of topics not usually included in plant physiologies such 

 as the light relations of foliage organs, the water requirements 

 of crops, variation and heredity, and the relationship of plants 

 not only to toxic root secretions in the soil but also to toxic 

 solutions applied to vegetation for the destruction of fungi and 

 weeds. These and other similar topics prove that the author 

 recognizes the importance of the life problems of economic 

 plants and of the ecological study of the cultivated field. It 

 naturally follows that certain other parts of the subject receive 

 rather less attention. Yet on the whole a fairly good balance is 

 preserved in the space devoted to the various phases of the sub- 

 ject. 



Among the features of the book deserving special commen- 

 dation is the pleasing absence of teleological interpretations. The 

 author is fortunate in finding no "beautiful adaptations" and 

 in appreciating the fact that plants do not respond in order 

 to "avoid dangers." There is also a pleasing absence of narrow 

 or dogmatic statements so frequently found in text books of 

 elementary science. The author shows himself familiar with the 

 most recent investigations in this department of science and gives 

 ample citations of literature to guide the independent student 

 should a more detailed knowledge of any phase of the subject be 

 sought. The character of its contents make it suitable for agri- 

 cultural high schools and colleges as a student's text book and 

 useful in ordinary schools as a book of reference. It is cer- 

 tainly a text that may be heartily recommended as the best 

 available for teachers in high schools and colleges who are en- 

 deavoring to apply botanical instruction to the solution of agri- 

 cultural problems. Geo. D. Fuller. 



The University of Chicago. 



