1896} CURRENT LITERATURE 61 
The spraying of plants. 
NOTHING more remarkable has taken place in the history of botany than 
the development of methods for the protection of cultivated plants against 
the attacks of fungi and insects, especially by spraying, and the consequent 
encouragement given to the study of the life history of fungi. It is scarcely 
more than a decade since the first impetus was felt, its inception being traceable 
to the discovery of the value of Bordeaux mixture as a fungicide and Paris 
green as an insecticide. The former was first used in France and the latter 
in central United States. The importance of these discoveries cannot be 
overestimated, and the extent and variety of the practical and scientific results 
which have followed can only be fully appreciated by one studying the sub- 
ject. It is therefore a valuable service which Mr. E. G. Lodeman? has 
rendered to practical and scientific men alike by the publication of a work on 
the general subject of spraying. 
In four hundred closely printed pages he has recorded a great number of 
facts and opinions, and given a clear survey of the growth of the subject and 
its present status, Beginning with the history and principles of spraying in 
general, he traces its rise and adoption in foreign countries and in America, 
together with improvements in machinery for its application ; then discusses 
the action of fungicides and insecticides upon the parasite, the host, and the 
soil, and devotes the last third of the work to descriptions of fungous 
diseases and insect enemies of many kinds of plants, with directions for 
treatment. 
There are several aspects in which the work is a specially valuable con- 
tribution to scientific literature. The chronological study of the subject in 
its different lines of development and from various geographical centers, 
with the abundant reference citations, presents a record of lasting importance, 
although necessarily limited by the size of the volume. 
The fact that America leads in the study of plant diseases, in devising 
new remedies, perfecting those already known, and in the readiness with 
which the cultivator accepts and applies the suggestions of the investigator 
'S Cause for congratulation, as it augurs well for the continued growth of 
pathology and incidentally of other branches of botany in this country. 
The number of diseases brought to light and the number of remedies 
Suggested have been so perplexingly numerous that the cultivator and the 
investigator alike will welcome the part of the work dealing with specific 
diseases and their treatment. Although necessarily brief, it is sufficient for 
the guidance of the cultivator, and affords the student a needed survey of 
the field. It is fortunate that insects and fungi are examined with equal 
