300 The Botanical Gazette. [Jy 
Minor Notices. 
A List of the vascular flora of Rensselaer county, N. Y., has been 
published by Drs. H. C. Gordinier and E. C. Howe. The list env. — 
merates 1345 species and varieties. The first list of the county was 
prepared by Professor Amos Eaton and Dr. George Marvin in 1819, 
under direction of the Troy Lyceum. Si 
complete and valuable. The distribution of species is given ¥ 
fully. A series of about seventy-five figures illustrate the general a 
Structure of the sixty-six genera described. ‘The second volume is 
promised for next year. ahep 
THE FIRST PART of a preliminary revision of North American 
tacez by Dr. John M. Coulter has been issued by the Department 
Agriculture. The work has been in hand since 1899, and he ye 
conducted, with the help of various assistants, in the field, in the 
gelmann collection of notes and types, and in the study of all 
ble American collections. The nature of the material and gi 
quent loss of types have made the study exceedingly dit 
the numerous garden names and descriptions of the older a i 
have made an inextricable synonymy. The Mexican boa 
regarded, aud all species that have come under observation ane 
reasonably certain are included. The present part con ae 
genera: Cactus, replacing the generic name, Mamillaria, — 
64 species and varieties are defined, twelve of which are new; 
lonium, with 4 species; and a new genus, Lophophor ” Peoeraplia 
distribution 1s discussed, so far as meager information will allo 
a handy artificial key is provided for the species of pare 
merous notes left by Dr. Engelmann, including descrip ie 
published species, have added greatly to the value of the revi ne 
