ET a Ee ae ES Ee oe TL eT or aS Pe ae eg ee ee 
Current Literature. 165 
The biology of ferns.' 
Weare somewhat puzzled to discover from what point of view we 
should criticise this book. To classify it is difficult. It is strictly 
neither a student’s handbook nor a treatise, but something of a com- 
bination of these. Nor is it sufficiently either one or the other to 
demonstrate clearly its raison d’étre. We have asked ourselves how we 
could use it; and the answer seems to be that it will be convenient to 
have the figures and the facts it contains in one book instead of in 
several; to have some fresh illustrations, instead of those already 
familiar; and to havé some concrete directions for collodion imbed- 
ding to supplement the general and comprehensive ones. 
_By this we do not mean to imply that the book is merely a compila- 
tion, for the author and his pupils have done a large amount of (in a 
sense) original work for it; yet there is not much in it that is really 
new. Nevertheless it has ample value to assure it a wide welcome in 
botanical laboratories. 
The book hardly seems to justify its title, if we understand it; for it 
treats not of the biology of ferns (which, we take it, cannot be studied 
by the “collodion method”), but of the morphology and comparative 
anatomy of ferns. In chapter 1 of the first part, Professor Atkinson 
describes succinctly the development of the gametophyte and its sex- 
He then devotes three chapters to the development, mor- 
Phology and anatomy of the stem, root, and leaves of the sporo- 
Phyte, and two to its sporangia. Chapter vii discusses the substitu- 
rossi growths from sporophytic and gametophytic budding, apog- 
»y and apospory, while vii is devoted to an account of the Ophio- 
bibli talsing prothallia, etc., and contains directions for study. A 
eve ee follows, listing the most important papers, which, how 
Allo hot directly cited in the text. 
are ats = gures are original, most of them are excellent, and some 
tinet “oriewptig fine, notably 49, 139 and 140. A very few are dis- 
i da aS 57, 58, 59. Fig. 131 is obscure and might do duty fora 
finished e eerclone: ..F igs. 19-23 and 25-27 were apparently left un- 
: accidentally, lacking the outline of the cell walls. It would 
‘er to put the initi i ide than to incor- 
Porate th put the initials of the artist at one side 
of draw 
Magnified 
€m with the tissues themselves. Nor can we quite see the use 
Ng a scale with each figure unless the figure and the scale are 
to the same degree. In every case where magnification 1s 
seeehee A reenie Meme Pak 
"Aner 
Method no 
M i a ii 34. fi . 16 3 
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