NATURE 



69: 



THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1913. 



BOTANY FOR STUDENTS. 

 A Text-Book of Botany. By Dr. Eduard Stras- 

 burg-er, Dr. Ludwig Jost, Dr. Heinrich Schenk 

 and Dr. Georg-e Karsten. Fourth English 

 edition, revised with the tenth German edition 

 by Prof. W. H. Lang", F.R.S. Pp. xi + 767. 

 (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1912.) 

 Price t8s. net. 



1^"OUR years have passed since the last English 

 edition of this comprehensive German text- 

 book was published, and the present volume, re- 

 vised by Dr. Lang, is by far the most satisfactory 

 edition of the book which has yet appeared. The 

 book has been very widely used by English- 

 speaking botanists, though it is far from being an 

 ideal work either for students or for teachers. 

 With the rapid development of botanical research 

 there has been a corresponding increase in the 

 subject-matter dealt with until the volume is 

 now uncomfortably bulk}' and heavy. The attempt 

 to deal with botanical science in the most con- 

 prehensive manner, which is the aim of this text- 

 book, has resulted in the former edij:ions in undue 

 condensation of the subject-matter. This defect 

 is still very marked in the present volume and 

 seriously impairs the value of the work. 



The arrangement follows that of previous 

 editions, namely, two parts devoted to general 

 l)otany — including morphology and physiology — 

 and special botany, comprising cryptogams and 

 phanerogams. The first part consists of 325 

 pages, and in the second section, physiology, the 

 pages for the most part are closely printed with 

 small type. 



With characteristic thoroughness the German 

 authors appear to have included the last word in 

 each branch of the subject, but there is also the 

 tendency, when so many points have to be men- 

 tioned, that a large number of important subjects 

 receive too short a notice to allow of adequate 

 explanation. This defect has all along been/ 

 particularly noticeable in the morphological section 

 of the volume. In the present edition the struc- 

 ture of the sieve tube, for instance, is dismissed 

 in about half a page of text with some indifferent 

 figures — a treatment far too meagre to be 

 within the unaided comprehension of the ordinary 

 j student. Germination, too, receives but the scanti- 

 I est treatment. 



j It is true that references to all the most recent 

 I work are given, but surely it would have tended 

 i to a more liberal education in botany to deal at 



xo. 2261, VOL. go] 



greater length with the fundamental facts and 

 to put aside some of the minutise of detail. There 

 is very little use in placing ornamented crockets on 

 the pinnacles of a tower if the whole structure 

 is likely to collapse from insecure foundations. 

 In this, however, our plaint is not against Dr. 

 Lang but is directed rather towards the authors 

 of the book. The defect is probably due to the 

 fact that they have had to compress matter suffi- 

 cient for two volumes into one, and have become 

 frightened at the size of the result. If, in the 

 future, part i. should be separated from part ii. it 

 may then be found possible to extend adequately 

 and fundamentally the sections of morphology and 

 physiology. The physiological section has now 

 become one of the most useful in the book and is, 

 if anything, too careful to be thoroughly abreast 

 of modern work. Like the first section it tends 

 to suffer from condensation and too brief treat- 

 ment of the various subjects. As an instance it 

 may be pointed out that the explanation of so 

 important a phenomenon as plasmolysis fails to 

 be wholly intelligible. 



The second part is as comprehensive as the 

 first. Among the fungi the recent work by Black- 

 man and others is included with illustrations, and 

 the utmost care has been taken to put the reader 

 in possession of the latest residts. The inclusion 

 of fossil types where needed to explain the 

 sequence of plant forms is a distinct addition to 

 the book. Our chief quarrel with the phanero- 

 gamic section, and with the cryptogamic to a 

 lesser extent, is the inclusion of the coloured 

 illustrations, which are poor in themselves and 

 are not likely to be of much service to British 

 students. 



The defects from which this volume suffers may 

 perhaps be attributed to two facts, the first being 

 that it is a compound work, and the second and 

 more important that it has been written to meet 

 the requirements of too many different classes of 

 people. 



The science of botany is presented as a con- 

 centrated extract of dry facts and the subject 

 is very largely shorn of its romance and charm. 

 There can be no doubt, however, that it ought to 

 be possible for the intelligent ex'aminee to obtain 

 the maximum number of marks in his examination 

 after a careful study of this volume. 



Suitable though it may l>e for the various types 

 of German students and serviceable as it un- 

 doubtedly is to English-speaking students, we can- 

 not but feel regret, despite its many excellent 

 qualities, that this book is coming to be recog- 

 nised as the standard text-book of botany in 

 English. 



D D 



