RECENT PUBLICATIONS 



"Wild Flowers and Trees of Colorado." By 

 Francis Ramaley, Professor in the Uni- 

 versity of Colorado 



This attractively published little volume 

 is intended as an introduction to Colorado 

 plants. It deals with the subject almost 

 wholly from the point of view of the bota- 

 nist, and probably will be of little interest or 

 value to the forester. 



No attempt is made to cover more than a 

 few of the wild flowers of the state, which 

 are briefly described in popular language 

 and illustrated by photographs and drawings. 

 The distribution of the flowers in altitudinal 

 zones is taken up quite fully, however, with 

 an ecological discussion as to the causes of 

 this. 



Forest formations and forest trees are 

 taken up in some detail, but the author's 

 discussion of the causes of the distribution 

 of the different species and types is not very 

 convincing. Professor Ramaley's desire to 

 emphasize the necessity for proper forest 

 protection unfortunately leads him to dis- 

 courage forest management by making the 

 very broad statement that if illegal cutting 

 is prohibited and fires kept out the forests 

 will take care of themselves. Exception 

 must also be taken to his sweeping statement 

 that, "Unless grown on bottom lands, all 

 trees planted in Colorado must be irrigated 

 or else well cultivated and protected during 

 the first few years after being planted," 

 which, if true, would of course make planting 

 for commercial purposes on a large scale 

 impossible. 



The book contains a key to the identi- 

 fication of all trees found in the state with 

 a description of each species, illustrated by 

 photographs and pen and ink drawings, 

 which will undoubtedly be helpful to those 

 desiring to become acquainted with the flora 

 of the state. A bibliography of the articles 

 dealing with Colorado trees is also included. 



S. T. D. 



"Andaman Marble-w-ood or Zebra-wood 

 (Diospyros kurzii, Hiern), by R. S. Troup, 

 Imperial Forest Economist to the Govern- 

 ment of India " 



This publication is the first of a series 

 dealing with some of the more important 

 Indian timbers. It contains a sample of the 

 wood and a description of the tree, but 

 gives particular attention to a discussion of 

 the structure of the wood, its weight. 

 strength, seasoning qualities, and uses. The 



publication will be of especial interest to 

 wood merchants, engineers, architects, and 

 others interested in the utilization of Indian 

 timbers. S. T. D. 



"National Hickory Association. Circular 

 No. 3 " 



This circular consists of a report of 

 the third annual meeting of the associa- 

 tion, papers on "Forest Conservation," and 

 the "Time Required to Grow Hickory," by 

 .Mr. Kellogg and Mr. Ziegler of the Forest 

 Service, and a discussion of Eucalyptus as 

 a suitable timber for vehicle stock. The 

 President's address calls attention most forc- 

 ibly to the rapidly decreasing supply of 

 hickory and the necessity for prompt action 

 by the association to determine the amount 

 of standing timber and to inaugurate re- 

 forms in the method of cutting and utilizing 

 the wood. Mr. Ziegler's paper is a partial 

 summary of a bulletin on the commercial 

 hickories of the United States to be issued 

 by the Forest Service, and contains much 

 valuable data concerning the growth of the 

 different species under different conditions. 



S. T. D. 



"Practical Farm Drainage," by C. G. Elliott; 

 New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1908 



This little manual of drainage is a rewrit- 

 ten edition of a book which first appeared in 

 1882. It is intended "for the use of farmers 

 and students," particularly those who have 

 no experience in drainage and kindred mat- 

 ters. While many of the author's sugges- 

 tions will prove very helpful to inexperienced 

 workers, the book suffers from an unsatis- 

 factory arrangement of material and from 

 a certain lack of clearness in the descrip- 

 tions of methods and processes. Whether 

 the average farmer could, with the aid of 

 this book, prepare a sketch map showing 

 elevations, such as are illustrated on page 

 fifty, or even accomplish the use of a plane 

 table, as described in Chapter X, it is doubt- 

 ful. Furthermore, many of the illustrations 

 are poor, and the style shows signs of hur- 

 ried writing. 



Some chapters, however, should prove of 

 great value. The chapter on special prob- 

 lems in drainage deals excellently with sev- 

 eral difficult subjects; that on drainage of 

 irrigated lands should prove very valuable 

 to farmers in the arid West. The book is 

 well printed and carefully indexed. 



N. H. G. 

 789 



