﻿CURRENT LITERATURE. 



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BOOK REVIEWS. 



Books on trees. 



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There has long been a demand for a nature-study book on trees that 

 would contain something more than mere systematic studies. This demand 

 Juh'a Ellen Rogers ' has met in an admirable manner. This work is divided 

 into four parts. In the first part (pp. 1-42), under the heading "outdoor 

 studies with trees/* the author writes in a very entertaining wa^^ on the life- 

 history of the maple, how to tell the age of a tree, the battle among the 

 twigs, thorns, and prickles, and other subjects. The second part (pp. 43-65) 

 deals with the physiology of trees. The respiratory and photosynthetic 

 processes are described simply and accurately; but under the heading "the 

 sleep of trees'* there are many unscientific and misleading statements. The 

 heading itself illustrates this point. When we say that trees sleep we are 

 getting out of the realm of facts into fancy. It is a question, of course, how 

 far "fancy" can be carried into nature-study books. The line should be 

 drawn so sharply that wrong inferences will not be made. The following 

 sentence illustrates the point, and there are many more like it : " If the sky 

 IS overcast, the tree is drowsy; if rain sets in, it goes right off to sleep. 

 We suppose that this is a reference to the photosynthetic process, but to 

 the uninitiated this would convey the idea that the tree is actually drowsy 

 in the same sense that animals are. A third section of the book (pp. 65-1 19) 

 treats of the cultivation of trees. In a very clear and fascinating way the 

 principles of landscape gardening are discussed, and one is told how to plant 

 and trim trees. The forestry question, the farmer's wood lot, fruit trees, 

 nursery trees, and diseases of trees — all subjects seldom mentioned in nature- 

 study work — add materially to the value of the book. In the fourth part about 

 125 different kinds of trees are described. Too much cannot be said in praise 

 of the workmanship of the book. The twenty-five full-page photogravures of 

 entire trees and many half-tones of trunks and leaves are identical with 

 those formerly issued by the publishers in the portfoho known as Series I, II, 

 and III of Typical forest trees. While it might detract from the beauty of 

 the book to number the illustrations, it would add much to its usefulness. 

 Among green trees should be in the hands of all teachers of nature. 



* Rogers, Julia Ellen, Among green trees. A guide to pleasant and profitable 

 acquaintance with familiar trees. 8vo. pp. xxii -}- 202, pis, 2j. figs. 155* Chicago: 

 A. W. Muinford. 1902. 



1903] 59 



