January 9, 19 13] 



NATURE 



511 



it does not do so, the reaction is practically certain 

 to proceed by some other path. 



From the whole tone of the book, one is led to 

 place great confidence in the conclusions reached 

 by the author. The collection of so many data in 

 such accessible form is a great boon to biological 

 chemists. 



(2) The first edition of Dr. Armstrong's mono- 

 graph was reviewed in Nature nearly three years 

 ago (May ig, igio). The second edition is larger, 

 and the cost is greater. 



This subject has such a large literature that 

 there was some danger that the monograph might 

 havi' been a condensation of some dull and monu- 

 mental work. Fortunately, the author has 

 avoided that entanglement, and has presented a 

 comprehensive survey of his subject without 

 making his book a chemical inventory. The 

 chemistry of typical carbohydrates is described, 

 and their relationship to other sugars is indicated. 

 Excellent tables give the required data, so that 

 the train of thought is not interrupted by un- 

 necessary details. After reading the monograph, 

 one can see a connection between a- and /3-gluco- 

 sides, their relation to enzymes, the cause of muta- 

 rotation, and many other interesting phenomena. 



Both these monographs ought to be read by all 

 physiologists and biological chemists, as they 

 contain much information about their respective 

 subjects, and in addition they are well written with 

 a broad view as to the general problems involved. 



H. E. R. 



BOOKS ON FORESTRY AND 

 ARBORICULTURE. 



(i) lUustriertes Handhuch der Laubholzkiinde. By 

 Camillo Karl Schneider. Lieferung 6-12. 

 Pp. V+1070. Price 34 marks. Register. 

 Pp. vii + 136. Price 5 marks. (Jena: Gustav 

 Fischer.) 



(2) The Story of Our Trees in Tivcnty-Foiir 

 Lessons. By Margaret M. Gregson. Pp. 

 xii-|-i6o. (Cambridge: University Press, 1912.') 

 Price 2S. 6d. (Cambridge Nature Study Series.) 



(3) Forestry in New England. A Handbook of 

 Eastern Forest Management. By Prof. R. C. 

 Hawley and Prof. A. F. Hawes. Pp. xv + 479. 

 (New York : John Wiley and Sons ; London : 

 Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1912.) Price 155. net. 



(4) Identification of the Economic Woods of the 

 United States. Including a Discussion of the 

 Structural and Physical Properties of Wood. 

 By Prof. Samuel J. Record. Pp. vii+ii7-F6 

 plates. (New York : John Wiley and Sons ; 

 London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1912.) 

 Price 55. 6d. net. 



NO. 2254, VOL. go] 



(5) Lightning in Relation to Forest Fires. By 

 F. G. Plummer. Pp. 39. (U.S. Dept. Agric, 

 F'orest Service. Bulletin iii. Washington, 

 1912.) 



(i) ' I ^HE number of trees and shrubs in cultiva- 

 X tion in the open air in this country is 

 astonishing. Numerous new introductions have 

 been made of late years, mainly from China, where 

 the discoveries of Dr. A. Henry and Mr. E. H. 

 Wilson have opened up an immense region, replete 

 with new and hardy species. No complete treatise 

 on the subject has appeared in English since 

 Loudon published his classic work, "Arboretum 

 et Fruticetum Britannicum," in 1838, and the 

 abridgment, "Trees and Shrubs," in 1842. We 

 have had to depend upon German text-books. The 

 best of these, Koehne's " Deutsche Dendrologie," 

 was published in 1893, and is now out of date. 



We hail, then, with great pleasure the appear- 

 ance of the concluding part of Schneider's great 

 work, which deals with broad-leaved trees and 

 shrubs, the conifers not being included. This is 

 in two volumes, the first comprising 810 pages 

 and 460 figures, the second 1070 pages and 628 

 figures, supplemented by a separate index of names, 

 covering no fewer than 136 pages. The whole 

 forms an indispensable text-book for all interested 

 in arboriculture and horticulture. The descrip- 

 tions are short, but accurate ; the references are 

 numerous and exact. \'arieties and sports, which 

 were omitted in Koehne's work, are briefly 

 mentioned by Schneider. 



As his regions of cultivation extend from the 

 Baltic to Istria, most of the genera which are 

 cultivated in England are taken up ; but there are 

 curious omissions. Eucalyptus is not referred to, 

 yet no fewer than twelve species find a home in 

 the west of England and Scotland, and in most 

 parts of Ireland. The account of monocotyledon- 

 ous trees and shrubs is very limited. While 

 Yucca, Ruscus, Smilax, and .^gave are included, 

 no mention is made of palms like Trachycarpus, or 

 of any of the bamboo tribe. .A translation of 

 Schneider's treatise into English would be a very 

 useful book, which would, in all probability, com- 

 mand a ready sale. 



(2) "The Story of Our Trees" is a book for 

 school-teachers, apparently ignorant of botany, 

 who wish to interest their pupils in the study of 

 trees. There are twenty-four lessons, the best of 

 which are those dealing with planting and felling. 

 The author does not seem to be well acquainted 

 with the special botany of trees, as she prefers 

 often to take her illustrations from humbler plants. 

 One would have selected the germination of the 

 oak rather than that of the broad bean, which is 



