REVIEWS 477 



Stanley Coulter (pp. 553-1002) gives a comprehensive catalogue of 

 the flowering plants, and ferns and their allies, indigenous to the state. 

 The paper includes a bibliography and a voluminous introduction, 

 with sections on the ecologic distribution of the plants (particularly 

 those of the dunes), re-forestation, poisonous plants, and noxious 

 weeds. 



The reports of the state inspectors of mines, gas, and oil are also 

 incorporated into the report. From these we learn that the production 

 of coal for 1899 exceeded by 14 per cent, that of any preceding year, 

 while the petroleum product shows an increase in value of 50 per cent. 

 The average rock pressure in the natural-gas field is 155 pounds, as com- 

 pared with 173 pounds in 1898, foreshadowing the early exhaustion of 

 this popular fuel. 



C. E. S. 



The Geography of the Region about Devil's Lake and the Dalles of 



the Wisconsin, with some notes on its Surface Geology. By 



Rollin D. Salisbury and Wallace W. Atwood. Bulletin 



No. 5, and No. 1 of the Educational Series of the Wisconsin 



Geological and Natural History Survey. Published by the 



State. Madison, Wis., 1900. 



It is seldom that a state report is readable for one who is not a 



geologist, or of more than local interest; but the bulletin just issued 



by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey is an exception. 



The bulletin is a volume of 151 pages with 39 plates and 47 cuts. It 



is one of the handsomest volumes ever issued by a state survey. The 



photograph is the best medium for describing nature clearly and 



sharply, and it has been used to good advantage throughout the report. 



The report is a description of the geography and surface geology 



about Devil's Lake and the Dalles of the Wisconsin. Perhaps there is 



no region in the interior where more objects of geological interest are 



found in an area of a few square miles than in the territory about 



Devil's Lake. All the various types of topography developed by 



glacial action are seen in contrast with those of the driftless area, and 



•several problems in structural geology are presented. River phenomena 



especially those connected with the ice invasion, are numerous. One 



■of the best features of the book is the illustrations. The mechanical 



work is excellent, and each plate is typical of what it illustrates. 



