366 The Botanical Gazette. — [September, 
CURRENT LITERATURE. 
A new text-book of botany. a 
The last (fourth) edition of Sachs’ admirable text-book, a work 
which marked a distinct era in the teaching of botany, appeared in 
1874, and owing to the rapid advances of the science, great need has 
been felt for some time for a revision of the work or of a new work 
take its place. The author himself, having long since abandoned all — 
hope or even desire to revise the work in its original form, published 4 
a work about ten years ago covering the physiological portion, and 
somewhat later Prof. Goebel wrote a work covering the part upon 
special morphology. These greatly enlarged portions still left a strong 
demand for a general text book of moderate size. The publisher? 
whom the botanical public is greatly indebted for bringing out many 
works of the highest merit, made a special effort in 1890 to secure & 
new edition of the text-book. He urged the task upon Prof. A. B. 
Frank of Berlin, who was in many ways admirably fitted to undertake : 
it. The offer was finally rejected upon grounds substantially the same 
as those that had influenced Prof. Sachs long before: i. ¢., that pie: 
the plan of the work needed changing, making it equivalent ia 
a new treatise. ie 
A new treatise, however, was at once undertaken, and to-day pi 
have in Frank’s Lehrbuch der Botanik*, a work that presents thee ode 
subject of botany as nearly along the lines laid down by Sachs 
book as could probably be attained at the present time, 
senting the freedom of treatment and freshness of 
thoroughly independent work. It is in two volumes, 
classification. A single index is made to serve for both. ie 
illustrations have already appeared in Sachs’ textbook, but many 
are new. 
A feature of the work that is indicative of the —_ soe of 
place in the recent relative development of the main ep — 
tissues. This portion of the work is well 
cially new features. The remaining two 4 he 
voted to physiology and it is in this part that we fin 
%, 
acteristic and interesting portions of the authors labor. pe 
wartigen, 5 gt 
1Franx, A. B.:—Lehrbuch der Botanik nach den geen cae. a we 
Wissenschaft. Vol. I, Zellenlehre, Anatomie und Riser 431 pp. 447 
illust. 1892. Vol. II, Allgemeine und specielle Morp’ - rh 29. 
1893. Leipzig, Wilhelm Engelmann. Roy. 8vo. MAF 
