230 botanical gazette. [ September, 



* 



provided if possible. If, for any reason, this is not done, the investigator 

 must find out where such systematic abstracts can be consulted, and, 

 either by personal visitation or by hiring some one to examine them, 



discover what has been done. 



It is a fair presumption, and one that ought always be made in the 

 absence of knowledge to the contrary, that every subject has been worked 

 at before by somebody, and no one is justified in publishing a piece of 

 work until he has assured himself that what he is about to publish con- 

 tains something worth setting forth. 



Such a position as this does not preclude the publication of bulletins 

 of information by the experiment stations, for a vast deal that is well 

 known to specialists is not known at all to those whom it would directly 

 benefit. It does preclude the publication of detailed experiments on 

 ground already well trodden, unless these approach the matter in some 

 new way or point to some different conclusions. 



CURRENT LITERATURE. 



Minor Notices. 



Weeds 



Wisconsin 



Station. 1 It contains a copy of the weed law of the state, which requires 

 the destruction of the following plants under penalties: Cnicus arvensis, 



Arctium Lappa, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum, Linaria . vulgaris, 

 Xanthium strumarium, Sonchus arvensis and Rumex crispus. Descrip- 

 tions and illustrations of all except Sonchus arvensis are accompanied by 

 illustrations of several other bad weeds which are not included in the 



law. 



Nothing does more to stimulate study of any group of plants than 

 providing beginners with suitable keys for the determination of the plants 

 that they collect. Professor Underwood and Mr. Cook are about to 

 issue a century of illustrative fungi, and they have prepared a series 01 

 keys to the genera of the Basidiomycetes and Myxomycetes to accom- 

 pany the set. 2 These certainly must prove extremely helpful to those 

 for whom they are intended. Of the specimens, fifty nine are Basidio- 

 mycetes, twenty-six Ascomycetes, eight Phycomycetes and seven Myxo- 

 mycetes. 



Professor Bailey has been conducting a series of careful experi- 

 ments on the germination of seeds, the results of which are embodied in 



1 Pp. 27, figs. 14. Published by the State. 

 * Underwood, L. M. and Cook, O. F.— Generic synopses of the Basidiomycetes and Myx- 

 omycetes. pp. 21. The authors, Syracuse, 1889. 



