VURRENT LITERATURE. 
BOOK REVIEWS. 
A new botany. 
Dr. WILLIAM A. SETCHELL, of the University of California, is another 
botanist to be added to the list of those who have attempted to meet the 
emand for a suitable text for secondary schools.* It goes without saying that 
Dr. Setchell’s presentation of the subject is both scientific and complete, the 
only question being as to whether the text meets the requirements of the con- 
Stituency for which it was prepared. It is true that some question might 
arise as to proportion of treatment when we find seven pages given to phyl- 
lotaxy and only two to the root, ten to the seed, and five to wind and _ insect- 
pollination, a fact which may perhaps be explained by the greater ease 
with which the favored topics may be fully treated in the school. 
Turning to the main question we find in the preface (p. vii) “that this 
sketch is intended for beginners, either in the higher grades of the primary 
schools or in the secondary schools.” An examination of the various chapters 
skillfully approached by antecedent laboratory direction, the definition of a 
leaf (p. 25) as ‘an expanded, lateral structure of limited growth, borne on 
the stem and usually with a bud (or branch) in its axil’’ can stand to the 
average child of from twelve to fifteen years as little more than a form of 
words. The definition is a good working definition for the botanist, but is 
Somewhat lacking as a working definition for the child. It is not a question 
of accuracy, merely one of adaptation. Concerning root hairs, we read (p, 
18) “ Examine the roots of the pea, bean, and corn, grown in loose, damp saw- 
dust (or in a moist chamber), with a lens. Notice and sketch the root hairs. 
Upon what portions of the roots do they occur? Of what use are they to the 
Plant?” This is the first mention made of root hairs, and indeed the only 
One save on p. 147, where reference is made to Kerner and Oliver for supple- 
mentary readings. No objection can be urged as to the content of the sec- 
tion quoted, but it is questionable whether as the result of such direction the 
average pupil in the “higher grades of the primary schools or in the 
* SETCHELL, WILLIAM A.— Laboratory practice for beginners in botany. I2mo. 
Pp- 198. New York and Chicago: The Macmillan Company. 1897. 90 cents. 
1897 | 215 
