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CURRENT LITERATURE. 
BOOK REVIEWS. 
Forestry monographs. 
THE APPEARANCE of the first elaborate series of monographs! on the 
valuable timber trees of North America, issued by our division of forestry, 
deserves more than a passing mention. The large volume before us gives 
evidence of the untiring zeal and patience of the chief of the division, who 
as been compelled to fight his way against public sentiment, and scanty 
appropriations, and difficulty of securing proper observations ; and also of 
the laborious work of his collaborators, in collecting and organizing the mass 
of facts for presentation. 
Historically it may be said that the conception and plan of these mono- 
graphs dates back ten years, when Mr. Fernow, in his first report (1886), pointed 
the biology of the valuable timber species, and outlined directions for these 
studies, which we ‘see has been strictly followed in the present series. Mr. 
Fernow explained from time to time in his reports why these studies, then 
begun, have been delayed in publication, the difficulty of securing satisfactory 
field oe such as the os would need, being the | pougiseths one, 
The five pines considered are P. fa/ustris (Long-leaf pine), ?. 
loa (Cuban pine), P. echinata (Short-leaf pine), P. Taeda (Loblolly s 
botant 
both of botanical and vernacular names, the latter with reference to localities 
where used, precedes a short statement of the economic importance and his- 
toric development of the exploitation of the species, followed by a more or 
less exhaustive description of the geographical distribution of the same. In 
this latter the commercial features have been made properly prominent — 
text, as well as in the maps, but as would be natural to such a 
throughout the 
botanist as Dr. Mohr, the betanical or plant geographical point of view has 
never been lost sight of. The characteristics of ma climate, and flora of the 
different localities in which the species is found are given in considerable Page 
detail, accompanied by measurements of tree development, which enable the a 
* Mowe, CHARLES.—The timber pines of the southern United States. Together 
Filibert Roth. Bulletin no. 
with a discussion of the structure of their wood, by Filibert Roth. Bulletin no. 13, 0 
- U.S. Department of A » 160. 1896. HEE ISS ie 
