378 The Botanical Gazette. [June, 
6. Melanose: A new disease, not yet causing much damage in Flor- 
ida, probably only about $5,000 in 1894; forms minute brown spots on 
eaves, twigs, and fruits, greatly staining and disfiguring the fruit; cause 
not certainly known, but probably some parasitic fungus; very effective 
remedy is the application of Bordeaux mixture or ammoniacal solu- 
tion of copper carbonate to the young fruits. 
A manual on the food of plants. 
Elementary guides to simple laboratory practice, constructed upon 
approved methods, are not yet numerous, and must be always wel- 
come. In many respects the little pocket manual on the food of 
plants, prepared by A. P. aurie,* is a model. It is arranged in a 
strictly logical sequence, is inductive in method, and brings the sub- 
ject within the apprehension of the beginner. The aim of the work 
is to show the elementary composition of plants, the source of food 
supply and to some extent the manner in which plants obtain their 
food. The author seems to think that this leads, as a matter of 
course, to agricultural chemistry, but on the contrary it is quite as 
good an introduction to vegetable physiology, or even better. The 
work was written for use in Great Britain; and in many parts of the 
United States and Canada the chapter on the derivation of soils from 
primitive rock would need modification to apply to the drift region. 
The work consists of thirty-three simple laboratory experiments 
with only enough text to bind them together. They would be most 
excellent for high school work, or any elementary course where pupils 
are under the guidance of a teacher. 
Minor Notices. 
A SMALL WORK on vegetable culture, by Alexander Dean,? has come 
to us for notice. It is a concise manual for pactical instructions for 
ca 
will interest those who are curious about the methods of English cul- 
inary gardening, as the work is well written. 
THE work of Arthur and Bolley on Bacteriosis of Carnations, is 
sued as bulletin 59 of Purdue University, deserves more than the pass- 
ee ae 
__,_ VAURIE, A. P.—The food of plants: an introduction to agricultural chem- 
Deira nton and New York, Macmillan & Co. 1893, 16mo. pp. ix+77- 
Illustrated. 
Dean, ALEXANDER. —Vegetable culture: a primer for amateurs, cottagers, 
and allotment-holders. Edited by J. Wright. London and New York, Mac 
millan & Co., 1896. 16mo. pp. 136. 38 illust. in text. 35 cents. 
ieaasiee — 
