April 26, 1906] 



NA TURE 



60s 



methods of protection of the flower against rain, &c. 

 The table on p. 18 collating the modes of dispersal 

 of the fruits of our trees and shrubs brings out the 

 facts very distinctly, and similar tabulations will 

 readily suggest themselves. With regard to the in- 

 dividual descriptions, it seems a pity that many are 

 so short and that the vegetative parts have not re- 

 ceived more consideration, but obviously in the limits 

 of a single volume this could not be managed. The 

 absence of. technical terms, except for the few that 

 are defined in the glossary, renders the book available 

 to all interested in botany. The book is confined 

 mainly to elementary topics, but students of advanced 

 botany will find that they also can learn much from 

 the information supplied, and can obtain not a few 

 references to questions awaiting explanation or re- 

 quiring more evidence to verify the explanations that 

 have been offered. The illustrations are numerous, 

 well produced, and appropriate. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 Rowing and Track Athletics. Pp. ix + 449. The 

 American Sportsman's Library. Edited by Caspar 

 Whitney. Rowing, by Samuel Crowther. Track 

 Athletics, by Arthur Ruhl. (London : Macmillan 

 and Co., Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan Co., 

 1905.) Price 8s. 6d. net. 

 In this book the history and progress of rowing 

 and track athletics in America are described in a 

 very interesting manner. From the British sports- 

 man's point of view the book will be read with very 

 threat pleasure, for it shows how eagerly the Americans 

 have strived, and not in vain, to excel the prowess of 

 the athletes this side of the Atlantic. From the scien- 

 tific point of view this history is also of value, for it 

 shows the evolution of ideas which have culminated 

 in the present methods. 



The old order changeth for the new, and a race 

 cannot now be won as in the old days, when it was 

 customary " to have your friends out in boats on the 

 course and to impede the other crew as much as 

 possible; the race was not always to the swift — if the 

 home man happened to be the slower," as the author 

 here narrates. 



At the present day the successful oarsman or track 

 athlete is he who is able to combine with the greatest 

 efficiency a number of variables. In the case of the 

 former, some of these variables include personal fit- 

 ness, easiness of style, length of oar and width of 

 blade to suit his particular capability, length and 

 weight of boat, and alertness of brain to take advan- 

 tage of prevailing conditions and possibly unforeseen 

 eventualities. 



In this book we see how hard the struggle has 

 been in America to acquire efficiency, and possibly the 

 reason why. In many national characteristics climate 

 plays a very important part, and, in the case of row- 

 ing or track athletics, the influence of climate can be 

 clearly detected. The British style of rowing, for 

 instance, has been evolved bv Britishers under British 

 weather conditions. The lines on which this efficiency 

 has been secured need not, and should not necessarily, 

 be identical with those evolved in America, since the 

 climate of the latter country is so different from that 

 of the British Isles. 



In track athletics the same principle holds, and this 

 is borne out by the fact that, on the average, the 

 American is the fastest sprinter, while the Britisher 

 is best at long- distances. In fact, as the author states, 



NO. I9O4, VOL. 73] 



" There is, undoubtedly, something magnetic in our 

 American air, at least in the sort of atmosphere that 

 is found in the north-eastern Atlantic States. . . . 

 What the English climate lacks in this stimulating 

 effect it seems to make up in its general soothing and 

 nourishing influence, and if the athlete who has been 

 bred in it is deficient in snap and nervous spring he 

 is strong in endurance and vitality." 



Without going into further detail, the reader must 

 be left to read the book for himself. The illustrations, 

 though not very numerous, are typical, and a capital 

 index concludes the volume. 



Economic Forestiere. By G. Huffel. Tome Premier. 



Pp. ix + 422. (Paris : Lucien Laveur, 1904.) Price 



10 francs. 

 France has always taken a leading part in sylvi- 

 cultural science, and the above volume is a good 

 indication of the thorough manner in which this 

 nationally important subject is practised in that 

 country. The French Government has learned by 

 past experience the disastrous results which the in- 

 judicious destruction of the forest inevitably brings, 

 but at the same time France can furnish unrivalled 

 examples of the benefits of proper forest management 

 and administration. 



The present work is divided into four parts. The 

 first part deals with the use of the forest, both as 

 regards the production of materials applicable to the 

 needs of man and the beneficial influence it has upon 

 the climate. A very interesting historical summary 

 is given of the uses to which the forest was formerly 

 put. This was pretty much the same in all coun- 

 tries, viz. the chase and pasturage. Then came the 

 time when the forest was principally of value in re- 

 gard to its wood production, especially in France, for 

 firewood, until this was to some extent superseded by 

 coal and other substitutes. A most interesting table 

 is included giving the variations in the price of 

 timber during the nineteenth century in France and 

 Austria. The author also goes into the numerous 

 uses to which timber may be put, and the different 

 substances which are to be got from it by chemical 

 means, from the crude products of distillation to the 

 finest silk. The author further gives a survey of the 

 colonial forests and their products. Then follow two 

 or three chapters dealing with the very important but 

 formerly too frequently disregarded aspect of sylvi- 

 culture, namely, the influence of the forest on the 

 climate. Very interesting statistics regarding the 

 daily, monthly, and yearly variations of temperature 

 inside and adjacent to the forest are given. Further, 

 the forest influences the humidity of the air. It in- 

 creases the rainfall. It regulates and preserves the 

 soil-moisture and controls the " flow off " in such a 

 way that disastrous floods and equally pernicious 

 droughts are prevented. The protection forest, and 

 the necessity for its preservation in the high collecting 

 ground, is dealt with in a masterly manner. The 

 forest regions of France, the hygienic influence and 

 aesthetic aspects of the forest, each receives its due 

 share of attention. 



In parts ii. and iii. we have a historical account 

 of the forests of France from the very earliest time. 

 Forest administration in all its branches, together 

 with the equipment and training for the State forest 

 service, are fully treated. Part iv. , which concludes 

 this volume, contains a vast amount of statistics con- 

 cerning the present forests and forest regions of 

 France. 



The author has evidently spared no pains to make 

 this volume as complete as possible in every way, and 

 it cannot fail to be of great service to those for whom 

 it is written. 



