110 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 212. 



ters devoted to the separate groups of bush 

 fruits, and the whole book is so planned that 

 the practical grower may quickly reach replies 

 to the questions in hand by means of a full in- 

 dex even to the varieties of each sort of fruit 

 embraced by the work. 



The more scientific portions of the volume 

 are kept as far as possible by themselves, set 

 in smaller type and include histories of the 

 various sorts of fruits, their insect enemies and 

 fungous diseases. This separation is a wise pro- 

 vision for the convenience of the grower, for 

 whom the book is especially written and who is 

 more interested in the art of producing a profit- 

 able crop than the underlying principles of bot- 

 any upon which the art securely rests. For ex- 

 ample, there ai-e nearly fifty pages of descrip- 

 tive text of species of Kibes set under the 

 chapter title of 'The Botany of the Groselles,' 

 and many of the species are figured. Such 

 portions of the work as this are of much value 

 to all who desire to advance American horti- 

 culture by introducing new species to cultiva- 

 tion or extending the range of hybridization. 



In the more practical part it may be noted 

 that special stress is placed upon the evapora- 

 tion of the fruit, and several illustrations are 

 given of the apparatus employed in this grow- 

 ing industry. In the preface, by the editor of 

 ' The Rural Science Series,' of which the ' Bush 

 Fruits ' is the sixth volume. Professor Bailey 

 states that ' the aim has been to treat general 

 truths and principles rather than mere details of 

 practice. ' 



The book is written by one who has both an 

 experience with bush fruits and a knowledge of 

 the best things that have been thought and said 

 along the lines he has followed out to a success- 

 ful issue in the volume in hand. 



Byron D. Halsted. 



The Lower Crelaceoxis Gryphseas of the Texas Re- 

 gion. By Robert Thomas Hill and Thomas 

 Wayland Vaughan. Bulletin of the United 

 States Geological Survey, No. 151. Wash- 

 ington, Government Printing Office. 1898. 

 Pp. 66. PL XXXV. 



The main object of the authors in publishing 

 this brochure is to set aright the confusion that 

 has long existed regarding the classification and 



stratigraphic position of a series of fossil oysters 

 commonly assigned to a single species, Orijphsea 

 pitcheri, Morton. They occur in especial abun- 

 dance in the Lower Cretaceous formations of 

 Texas, and when properly classified are found 

 to be of great value in determining the position 

 of strata. From forms heretofore known as O. 

 pitcheri at least eight species are here recog- 

 nized (Table, pp. 45-46), viz. . G. vesicularis, 

 Lam., 1806; G. newhen-yi, Stanton, 1893; G. 

 mucronata, Gabb, 1869 ; G. washitaensis, Hill, 

 1889 ; G. navia, Hall, 1856 ; G. corrugata, Say, 

 1823 ; G. marcoid, Hill and Vaughan, 1898 ; 

 G. wardi, H & V, 1898. It is found, further- 

 more, that even Morton's species (so long con- 

 sidered the type) must be abandoned in favor of 

 Say's G. corrugata. 



The introduction, dealing historically with 

 the controversy of many years' duration con- 

 cerning G. pitcheri and the formations in which 

 it occurs, is not without a moral, inasmuch as 

 it plainly shows that an iuadecjuate description, 

 with a poor figure, may become a fruitful source 

 of error, which, as in the case of the species 

 under consideration, may be greatly augmented 

 by the want of proper stratigraphical knowl- 

 edge on the part of collectors. 



An account of the fossil oysters of the Texas 

 region and a classification of the Ostreidee fol- 

 lows. The difficulties encountered by the au- 

 thors are not underestimated: " In undertaking 

 the study of the Ostreidte one is soon confronted 

 with the question: What constitutes species and 

 genera in this group ? The variation of species 

 is much greater in the Ostreidis than in other 

 moUuscan genera. No other group presents 

 such unsatisfactory criteria for specific differen- 

 tiation. These forms, judging from their strati- 

 graphic occurrence as well as their habits, seem 

 to adopt new variations of shape with every 

 change in physical condition of habitat, as is 

 illustrated in the variations of our living spe- 

 cies. Changes similar to those occurring at the 

 present time have occurred in the past, and no 

 doubt many species have arisen by some of these 

 local variations becoming fixed and persistent. 

 Large suites of specimens often show that two 

 species usually considered very distinct may 

 grade into each other. The intergradations 

 are of such a kind that frequently it can easily 



