January 5, 1899J 



NA TURE 



researches which have led to a definite and final con- 

 clusion as to the constitution of Saturn's rings, brings the 

 whole' work to a fitting termination. 



The diagrams and illustrations, though not very 

 numerous, are generally good and clear, with the possible 

 exception of Fig. 23, which seems to need more ex- 

 planation than is given. The bibliographical notes, which 

 are appended to every chapter, give most valuable and 

 copious reference to the original authorities. Prof. 

 Darwin's book ought to be read by "all those whose 

 minds are in any degree permeated by the scientific 

 spirit " (preface) : it is certain to excite the interest 

 and appreciation of all such, and not least of the 

 mathematician, in spite of the fact that there is not a 

 mathematical symbol from one end to the other. 



W. E. P. 



FLORA OF ROUMANIA. 

 Conspectul Floret Romaniei. By Dr. D. Grecescu. 

 Pp. xvi -I- 835. (Bucharest : Tipografiea Dreptatea, 

 1898.) 



THIS is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the 

 floras of the Balkan States. Prof. Grecescu's 

 book supersedes Branza's " Prodromul Florei Romaniei," 

 which so far has been the only comprehensive work on 

 the flora of Roumania. Branza enumerated 2100 species, 

 of which Grecescu admits 1875 ^s "good." These 

 figures refer to Roumania, exclusive of Dobrudsha. 

 Grecescu includes, of course, the latter, and records 

 2450 species besides 550 varieties. This very consider- 

 able increase is partly due to the addition of the 

 Dobrudsha flora, partly to the admission of not a few of 

 Schur's very questionable species and of other " species 

 minuta?," but mainly, no doubt, to the more complete 

 collections which were at the author's disposal. The 

 author evidently worked under considerable difficulties. 

 He had not only to accumulate the bulk of the material 

 on which his work rests, but was also obliged at the 

 same time to build up, as it seems, a general her- 

 barium of European plants for comparison. It is 

 only fair to mention this in order that we should not 

 criticise too severely shortcomings which are inevitable 

 under such conditions. 



The book consists of two parts, of which the first 

 contains the Conspectus proper, or the enumeration of 

 the species found within the borders of the kingdom of 

 Roumania, preceded by a synoptical table of the classes 

 and orders ; whilst the second part deals with the general 

 physiography of the country and the principal vegeta- 

 tions and floras of Roumania. The author follows in the 

 arrangement of the orders on the whole the system 

 adopted in Nyman's "Conspectus Florre Europete." 

 Why he deviates from it in certain cases is difficult to 

 understand, if it is not partly to suit his key of orders ; 

 but when he subdivides, for instance, the " Embriogene 

 Dicotyleddne Apetale Unisexuate " {i.e. the unisexual 

 Apetate) into " Angiospernie " and " Gymnosperme," 

 including Gnetacese in the former, then he shows 

 such a disregard of modern nomenclature and the 

 results of modern taxonomy, that at least an attempt of 

 explanation ought to have been made. In fact, it is 

 always precarious to introduce taxonomic reforms of a 

 NO. 1523, VOL. 59] 



higher order into local floras, and the author would have 

 done far better if he had stuck right through to Nyman's 

 " Conspectus." 



The introductory chapters of the first part (" Clasifi- 

 catiea generala " and " Dispositiea familiilor naturale ") 

 are altogether the weakest part of the work, and might 

 have been just as well omitted as being outside the 

 scope of the book. The same applies to the short 

 diagnoses of the tribes, subgenera and more subordinate 

 groups which are dispersed through the enumeration of 

 the species. As neither the genera nor the species are 

 diagnosed, the result is an imperfect key which is use- 

 less to the beginner who does not know the genera, 

 whilst the more advanced student who knows them is 

 equally puzzled, as it does not carry him far enough. 



The terminology is sometimes rather loose ; for 

 instance, when the perianth of Plumbagine^e and 

 Primulace.t is described as " herbaceous," or the terms 

 used are obsolete, e.g. when " perisperm " is applied, as 

 it was originally by Jussieu to albumen generally. Other 

 errors, asUhe description of the capsules of Primulacefe 

 as pyxidia generally, are evidently mere slips. On the 

 other hand, innovations like the subdivision of Gram- 

 ine;e in two tribes, Eugramine;e and Maydea;, are quite 

 unjustifiable. 



The author distinguishes three principal zones of 

 vegetation in Roumania, i.e. an Alpine zone, a forest zone 

 and a steppe zone, and he considers Roumania as form- 

 ing part of a greater and natural phytogeo graphical 

 region, the region of the Flora Dacica, with the Southern 

 Carpathians as the principal focus, and extending to the 

 Theiss in the west, the Dniester in the east, and the 

 Danube and the Black Sea in the south and south-east. 

 This section of the book is of considerable interest, and 

 it is to be regretted that the author has not accompanied 

 it by a resume in French, English or German. We are 

 sure there are many botanists who are interested in the 

 constitution and difterentiation of the Roumanian flora, 

 but to whom a book written in Roumanian does simply not 

 exist. They would certainly be thankful if the author would 

 publish a translation or a comprehensive abstract of the 

 second part of his book in one of the languages men- 

 tioned. Either, we venture to suggest, would gain very 

 much by a careful revision which will convince him that, 

 for instance, the number of endemic species admitted in 

 the Alpine zone of the Flora Dacica (fully 31 per 

 cent. !) is far too high, or that many of the so-called 

 Mediterranean elements can hardly claim this desig- 

 nation. O. Staff. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 De Da?tske Barkbiller{Sio/_)'fiiiiie et Platypodidae Danicae). 

 By E. A. Lovendal. Pp. xii -f 212 ; plates 5. (Copen- 

 hagen, 1898.) 

 In this work Mr. Lovendal, of the Copenhagen Museum, 

 has written a most complete account of the Danish species 

 of bark-beetles, a subject previously dealt with by him, 

 principally with regard to its systematic side, in Meinert's 

 " Entomologiske .\Ieddelelser." No European family of 

 beetles, relatively to its size, has given rise to a more 

 copious literature, chiefly because of its important 

 economic relations ; and in EichhofFs " Die Europaischen 

 Borkenkiifer," we possess already an excellent treatise on 

 the European species known at the date of that work. 



