190 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. Lni. No. 1365 



courses. TLe book is concise in its presenta- 

 tion of the subject and logical in its arrange- 

 ment, it supplies exactly tbe need for a text 

 in a short semester course in botany. It also 

 lends itself well to expansion, as the reviewer 

 has used the earlier editions, by means of sup- 

 plemental lectures on the evolutionary devel- 

 opment of plants, genetics, etc., and labora- 

 tory exercises. 



This new edition has an increase of ninety 

 pages and forty-three new illustrations have 

 been inserted; adequate illustration is a most 

 important feature in a scientific text-book. 

 Chapter I. has been greatly extended so as 

 to cover the chief methods of microtechnique. 

 This is a practical aid to the student if a lab- 

 oratory coiirse is given in conjunction with 

 the text-book work. Chapters H. and m. 

 dealing with the alternation of generations 

 and the life histories of the fern and pine, 

 are essentially the same as in the preceding 

 editions except that the illustrations are bet- 

 ter, especially the reproductions of the micro- 

 photographs of sections. In Chapter IV. the 

 treatment of the angiosperms, with Eryfhro- 

 nium as a type, is expanded and additional 

 illustrations inserted. Chapter V. entitled 

 Vegetable Cytology is comprehensive to a 

 degree. Mitosis and the morphology of a 

 plant cell are adequately presented as well as 

 a discussion of the modes of reproduction in 

 plants. The section dealing with non-proto- 

 plasmic cell contents is esi)ecially detailed for 

 such a general text and treats admirably the 

 principal plant products as sugars, starches, 

 glucosides, alkaloids, oils, gums, pigments, 

 etc., with short tests for identifying specific 

 substances as cocaine, veratrine, asparagine, 

 caffein, salicin, hesperidin, etc., which sup- 

 plies the needs of pharmacy students in this 

 respect and emphasizes the economic impor- 

 tance of many plants for the general student. 



While in its use as a general text it may be 

 rather deficient in the presentation of botan- 

 ical physiology an attempt is made in this 

 edition to overcome this criticism by a dis- 

 cussion, under the head of Protoplasm and 

 its Properties, of the elements of organic 

 ftmction. Various tropisms are considered 



and reference is made to the recent work of 

 Steckbeck on sensitive plants. Chapters VI. 

 and Vli. represent the histological and ana- 

 tomical section of the book. The treatment 

 of plant tissues and organs, as roots, stems 

 leaves, flowers, is thorough and complete, and 

 while remniscent of that old and iiseful gen- 

 eral text, Gray's Lessons in Botany, is quite 

 modem in its presentation. The concluding 

 Chapters VIII. and IX. cover the subjects of 

 taxonomy and ecology. The latter subject is 

 presented in four pages but the chapter on 

 classification is very complete with regard to 

 plants used in materia medica. Only the 

 medicinal plants of each order or family are 

 considered, the official name, the botanical 

 name, the part of the plant used and the 

 habitat being given in each case. The illus- 

 trations of these plants are especially help- 

 ful. If, however, the book is used as a gen- 

 eral text a regular manual or flora could 

 easily be substituted as a reference for that 

 portion of the course in lieu of this pharma- 

 ceutical taxonomy. 



Although the book was primarily written 

 for pharmacy students, and is used by the re- 

 viewer for such students, the broad scope and 

 the diverse phases of botanical science pre- 

 sented in a convenient and orderly manner 

 commend it equally well to teachers as a 

 general text. 



H. H. M. Bowman 



Department of Biology, 

 Toledo XJniveksity 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



TWO LIMESTONE FORMATIONS OF THE 

 CRETACEOUS OF TEXAS WHICH 

 TRANSGRESS TIME DIAGONALLY 



Some thirty-five years ago the existence of 

 two great series of Cretaceous formations in 

 the Texas region was pointed out by the 

 writer, and it was shown that each of these — 

 the Gulf and the Comanche Series — repre- 

 sented a cycle of sedimentation which culmi- 

 nated in relatively deeper water formations, 

 known now as the Edwards Limestone and 

 Austin. Chalk respectively. 



Observations of the past few years during 



