NATURE 



[June i6, 1904 



embody the policy which we should adopt as a national 

 policy, which alone can give us an assured position 

 as a nation, as we are bound to develop a forward 

 policy. 



Prof. Gardner's work is essentially a plea for the 

 reconstruction of humanist studies — but he is not alto- 

 gether free from the narrowness of outlook which is so 

 often met with in the humanist. " If," he says, 

 " the lead in higher education is left to Manchester or 

 to London, the turn which it will take is probably not 

 towards a more enlightened and scientific humanism 

 but towards physical science. The study of nature 

 will encroach and the study of man recede." 



Whereas, however, in ancient times, the study of 

 nature held an entirely subordinate place in the scheme 

 of knowledge, we have now to recognise that man is 

 but a part of nature ; and since we have tamed the 

 forces of nature to the service of man, an enlightened 

 and scientific study of humanism is impossible without 

 considerable knowledge of physical and biological 

 science; it must, therefore, be the work of the univer- 

 sities to develop the application of scientific method 

 to all branches of study, as humanism will suffer 

 grievously if studied from a too narrow point of view. 

 Matthew Arnold recognised this when he wrote : — 



" The ideal of a general liberal training is to carry 

 us to a knowledge of ourselves and the world. . . . 

 The circle of knowledge comprehends both the study 

 of the humanities and the study of nature and we 

 should all have some notion, at any rate, of the whole 

 circle of knowledge." 



May the birds and the butterflies help us to sounder 

 views ! 



Conduct is impaired, he says, by the want of science 

 and culture. That our universities should hold so 

 narrow a conception of culture as to accord a know- 

 ledge of scientific method no regular place in the 

 curriculum is a striking commentary on the sufficiency 

 of humanist studies as hitherto conducted. 



H. E. A. 



A NEW TYPE OF BOTANICAL TEXT-BOOK. 

 Lehrbuch der Pflanzenkunde fiir hohere Lehran- 



stalten. By Dr. Karl Smalian. Pp. iii -1-626; 



illustrated. (Leipzig : G. Freytag.) Price 8 marks. 

 T T has become more and more clear of late years 

 that for one man to write a satisfactory text-book 

 of modern botany is practically an impossible task. 

 It is true that such text-books do appear, fortunately 

 at m.uch rarer intervals than formerly, but they only 

 serve to give support to this view. The well known 

 "Bonn text-book," which has run through so many 

 editions, is a step in the right direction, for though the 

 whole is complete in a single volume, the authorship 

 is composite. It cannot be long, however, before the 

 student will finally have to give up the long cherished 

 belief that it is possible to find within tlie covers of 

 a single volume a complete manual of his subject. 

 Dr. Smalian 's volume, with its numerous closely 

 printed pages, suggests an attempt in this direction, 

 but an examination shows that the author has 

 succeeded in producing a text-book of a distinctly novel 

 type. 



NO. 1807, VOL. 70] 



General and special morphology and physiology are 

 relegated to the last hundred pages, while the whole 

 of the rest of the book deals with the plant from what 

 is usually termed the natural history point of view. 

 A large number of plants, representatives of the chief 

 natural orders, are selected, and an attempt is made 

 to give a picture of them as living beings. Their 

 naked eye anatomy is described, and its relation to 

 their environment, both animal and vegetable as well 

 as inorganic, is considered. Any special adaptations 

 which they may exhibit are dealt with, stress being 

 laid on their exact method of pollination, while their 

 geographical distribution and their uses to man are 

 also included. In many cases, to make the picture 

 more complete, any striking animal or vegetable para- 

 sites which may seriously affect the life of the plants 

 under consideration are figured and described. The 

 cecological factor and the question of plant com- 

 munities are always kept clearly in mind. 



The descriptions of the plants are exceedingly well 

 done, and are profusely illustrated with figures in 

 the text, all the more important orders, both 

 European and exotic, being dealt with, some at con- 

 siderable length. Thus, under Ranunculaceae, after 

 an account of the external anatomy, habitat and 

 environmental relationship of Ranunculus acris, 

 Ficaria verna, Caltlia palustris and Anemone nemo- 

 rosa, no less than twelve genera are treated in detail. 

 Furthermore, when occasion arises, other matters of 

 general botanical interest are discussed. The 

 Rosacea are an excuse for dealing with various 

 methods of grafting ; under Leguminosas the nature 

 of root tubercles, the morphology and function of 

 tendrils, the movements of sensitive plants are all 

 described. When dealing with the Horse-chestnut, the 

 structure of the buds and their method of opening are 

 made clear with the help of exceedingly good figures. 

 Insectivorous plants, parasites, saprophytes, leaf 

 mosaic, &c. , are all dealt with in their appropriate 

 places, and in considering domestic plants, such as 

 the carrot, the striking effect on the plant of change 

 of environment is pointed out, and a short digression 

 made to consider the differences between mutations 

 and variations. 



The part dealing with morphology and physiology 

 is by far the smaller portion of the book, and is of 

 too condensed a nature to be of much value. The 

 figures are in the main well chosen, but surely in these 

 days of active cytological investigation of plants it is 

 not necessary to illustrate nuclear division by a series 

 of schematic figures drawn from an animal cell. 



It is clear from what has been said above that the 

 main portion of the book is literally packed with in- 

 formation, and certainly the author has made good 

 the two claims in his preface, that he has given 

 " einen reichen Stoff," and put it forward in a read- 

 able form. Of its value to teachers, and as a book of 

 reference, there can be no question, and the author 

 must be congratulated on the pen-pictures of the 

 selected plants. But it cannot be considered satis- 

 factory as a text-book, for its sheer plethora of facts 

 must surely produce mental indigestion even in a sub- 

 ject endowed with such strong assimilating power as 



