1909] CURRENT LITERATURE es 
plants of the state, after the fashion of some of the excellent books on the eastern 
flora. The demand for this sort of a book, we hope, will induce Dr. RAMALEY 
to prepare such a volume. The tourist travel alone would doubtless quickly 
absorb a reasonable edition. 
MACKENSEN, a teacher in the San Antonio (Texas) High School, has pub- 
lished, as well as written, a handy a little pamphlets on “‘all the woody plants 
growing naturally within five or six miles of the center of the city of San Antonio.” 
According to the author’s investigations there are just one hundred such species, 
of which at least ten are introduced. This number of species is surprisingly 
large, but is due to the author’s lax conception of woody plants, for we find 
included various vines, agave, and the cactuses, not to mention a herbaceous 
mallow described as ‘‘woody below.” The descriptions are untechnical, and 
there are some interesting observations on certain species. The lack of a key 
will limit the usefulness of the pamphlet.—C. R. B. 
Asiatic palms.—The present volume, a monographic presentation of the 
species of Calamus,® records the results obtained by a careful specialist after 
years of study of living plants in their native habitat and the critical examination 
and comparison of dried specimens from the larger herbaria of the world. The 
subject-matter is arranged under ten headings, the first being an introductory 
essay of forty-five pages giving a detailed discussion of all parts of the plants 
entering in any way into their classification, the treatment of the genus by former 
authors, present limitations, especially with reference to Daemonorops and 
Palmijuncus, and finally the geographical distribution of species. 
The author then introduces the taxonomy by giving a systematic conspectus 
of the species, arranged in sixteen groups, based primarily on the presence or 
absence of leaf-cirri, and further on the characters of the leaf sheaths and inflores- 
cence; the conspectus is followed by a synopsis of the species (brief characteri- 
zations of the 201 recognized species); and lastly their enumeration with bibliog- 
raphy, detailed descriptions, and copious notes. With the exception of five 
species, known only from Rumpn’s descriptions and figures, all of those treated 
in the text have been beautifully illustrated by natural-size phototype repro” 
ductions from the author’s own negatives. A complete index to species and 
plates concludes the volume. The work is an important contribution to taxo- 
nomic literature —J. M. GREENMAN. 
A forcing process.—JOHANNSEN’s process of forcing plants by treatment 
with ether vapor has been of considerable service in the commercial production 
of unseasonable flowers. A much simpler and in every way more practicable 
S MACKENSEN, B., The trees and shrubs of San Antonio and vicinity: a 
book of the woody plants growing naturally in and about San Antonio, Texas. 12m0. 
Paper. pp. 51. pls. 12, San Antonio: The author. 1909. : 
6 BEccarr, Opoarvo, Asiatic palms—Lepidocaryeae. Part I. The species of 
Calamus, Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta 11:1-518. pls. 238. 1908. 
