386 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [nov 



the mesophyll, which, he says, protects the leaf from further harm by cold and 

 serves by retaining the water (ceded later to the stems) to facilitate the develop- 

 ment of buds in spring I 



The most voluminous morphological paper is one by Buscalioni and Tra- 

 VERSO on the morphological evolution of the flower in relation to the chromatic evo- 

 lution of the perianth. They seek to show that the evolution of floral coloration 

 is neither due merely to insect relations nor is it monophyletic. At least two 

 lines are recognized, one characterized by the dominance of the xanthic series, the 

 other by the cyanic. ^'Internal causes" primarily, then insect visits and ''other 

 factors," have been the agents in modifying the first flowers, which they assume 



/ 



^ 



to have been anemophilous — an assumption that needs defense. Of course "m- 

 herent causes" is simply a confession of defeat. Henslow's theory (1893) 

 came to their attention only after part of the work was printed; his book on The 

 origin 0} floral structures is critically discussed in an appendix, and his theory 

 mildly approved. 



The volume closes with ofiicial reports of the work of the Royal Cryptogamic 

 Laboratory of the Institute in 1904 and 1905. They show that it is doing good 

 service for the country and the various researches indicate the acti\dty and energy 

 of the staff.— C. R. B. 



4 



Progress of botany 



In the second part of the first volume of this admirable series, Czapek gives 

 a resume of the progress of our knowledge of the nutrition of plants since the 

 publication of the first volume of PrErFER's Physiologic^ By his interpretation 

 Erndhrungsphysiologie covers even more than our blanket-word metabolism; 

 for he discusses the mechanics of 'all the exchanges of material between the 

 plant and the outer world, and the movement of water and foods within it, as 

 well as the synthesis of foods, their assimilation, the non-plastic products, the 

 ash constituents, enz}Tnes and cytotoxins, respiration, and fermentation. 



To do this within 1x4 pages would not be possible, were it not that the author 

 can refer in many places to the summary already prepared in his Biochemie der 

 Pfianzen, It must be remembered that a reporter sees things from a particular 

 angle, and while we cannot ahvays approve the point of view occupied by this 

 author in sur\^eying the field of research, we do recognize his synopsis as com- 

 prehensive and complete. It is especially useful in its mclusion of investiga- 

 tions carried on in eastern and southeastern Europe, that unfortunately are too 

 often overlooked by the more western peoples, either through carelessness or 

 unfamiliarity with the Slavic languages. 



So much is included in Czapek's summary that would hardly be expected 

 even from the topics named, that it behooves every physiologist to read this 

 paper and have it at hand for reference. — C. R. B. 



3 CzAPEK, Friedrich, Die Ernahrungsphysiologie der Pflanzen seit 1896. 

 Progressus Rei Botanicae (ed. J. P. Lotsy) 1:417-532. Leipzig: Gustav Fischer- 

 1907. Per volume, M 18. 



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