RECENT BOTANICAL PUBLICATIONS, ETC. 169 
7 
As if it ever were within the scope of the publications from 
the Smithsonian Institution to include elementary works, 
written for “persons with almost no knowledge?” It would 
perhaps have been better to say “‘with no knowledge at all,” 
or to omit the notorious word knowledge altogether; ‘‘knowl- 
edge” is a word much too technical and unusual to be used in 
this connection. 
Now with regard to the contents of this volume, there is a 
so-called “‘systematic treatment of the vascular plants” in the 
manner of keys to the families (in some cases to the genera) 
based mainly on ‘“‘vegetative characters,” and‘‘on floral charac- 
ters.” Then follows an annotated list of species, accompanied 
by keys to the species in each family, as well as a brief descrip- 
tion of the families; a glossary is appended. The photographs 
show several landscapes from the region, and about 30 species 
of the commoner plants. 
A systematic treatment of the ‘vascular plants must natur- 
ally call for some “‘system;’ the system adopted is: I. Trees 
and shrubs. II. Herbaceous plants. In other words we are 
brought back to some four hundred years ago. The “trees 
and shrubs” commence with Cactaceae, followed by Pinaceae, 
Ranunculaceae, Staphyleaceae, Fraxinus, Sambucus, Robinia, 
etc. The “herbs” commence with Juncaceae, followed by 
Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Lemnaceae, Hydrocotyle, Nymphae- 
aceae, Callitrichaceae, Potamogetonaceae, etc. This chapter, 
_ which occupies 30 pages, contains the two keys, mentioned 
above; one based on vegetative characters, another on floral 
characters. The first to be treated according to “floral charac- 
ters” are the Pteridophyta, ferns and fern-allies. Then follow 
the Gymnospermae. The Monocotyledoneae begin with Lemna- 
ceae, and end with Iridaceae. In the Dicotyledoneae two divi- 
sions are adopted: Choripetalae and Gamopetalae. Of these the 
former commences with Salicaceae, ending with Lythraceae; 
the Gamopetalae commence with Monotropsis, followed by 
Vacciniaceae, Ericaceae, Diospyraceae, etc., ending with 
Solanaceae. Immediately following this systematic treatment 
of the vascular plants, we have the ‘‘annotated list of species,” 
said to include “all indigenous plants and all introduced ones 
that have become established” (l. c. p. 15). ‘All the species 
admitted to the formal list are based upon specimens in the 
