458 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [December 



best brief texts in English that are available for elementary students. Its issue 

 by an American house will make it much more accessible for American stu- 

 dents.— C. R. B. 



MINOR NOTICES 



The vegetation of Texas. — Bray^ has made a presentation in a most attractive 

 booklet of the various ecological features of the Texas vegetation. The style of 

 the work is popular, inasmuch as the design of the author was to make the general 

 features of the vegetation of the state a matter of interest to students in the schools 

 and citizens generally. First the factors of plant environment are considered, 

 detailed application being made to the familiar plants of the state. Next follows 

 an account of the plant societies, treated chiefly after the order of Schimper. It 

 is here especially that one may see the astonishing variety that is to be found in 

 Texas. The woodlands range from the fine bottomland and pine forests of the 

 southeast, through post-oak or live-oak forests to the western chaparral. Again 

 in the mountains the characteristic conifer forests of the Rocky Mountains are 

 to be found. There are also extensive areas of prairie and desert. Last of all is 

 considered the vegetation of the w^ater, halophytic areas, and dunes. It is probable 

 that somewhere in Texas any citizen of the entire country (except the far west) 

 could find familiar plant formations, so great is the variety. It is to be hoped that 

 this most excellent work will be made of great use throughout the state. For the 

 purpose it is probably the best work that any of our states possesses. There are 

 some good maps, and a number of photographic representations of characteristic 

 landscapes and vegetation types. — Hekry C. Cowles. 



Ecological exploration in northern Michigan. — Few have recently done more 

 to advance the frontier lines of ecolog}' than has C. C. Adams,s and it may be 

 said that his report on the sur\^ey of parts of northern Michigan is the record of 

 essentially pioneer w^ork. This is probably the first paper to extend the principles 



ecology 



It is obvious that the future 



must see much work of this character, for it is only by such studies as this, carried 

 on by a number of ecological specialists, that the complex interrelations of any 

 biota are to be worked out. There are three special ecological papers in this 

 report. A. G. Ruthvex, w^ho had charge of the field-work, under the super- 

 vision of Mr. Adams, presents an account of the regions studied, the Porcupine 

 ]\rountains and Isle Royale. The chief feature here is the detailed description of 

 the representative stations that were chosen for study. In each case the character- 

 istic plants and animals are noted, and the physiographic and ecological dynamics 

 are elucidated. Papers follow on the ecological distribution of the birds of the 



4 Bray, W. L., Distribution and adaptation of the vegetation of Texas. Bull. 

 Univ. Tex. 82; Scientific Scries 10. pp. 108. Austin. 1906. 



s Adams, Charles C, An ecological survey in northern Michigan. From report 

 of Michigan State Board of Geological Survey for 1905. pp. 133. Lansing, ig^*^- 



