610 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 722 



An appendix in wliieh the anatomical char- 

 acters are brought together for easy compari- 

 son, a list of the literature cited, and a good 

 index close the text, following which are the 

 plates, all excellent half-tone reproductions of 

 photomicrographs of wood sections. 



In the chapter on general phylogeny the 

 author gives us his ideas as to the phylogeny 

 of the Coniferales in a suggestive diagram 

 (page 161). Proceeding from the main stem 

 of the Cycadofilices are two considerable 

 branches the Cycadales (including Bennetti- 

 taceae and Gycadaceae), while the other 

 through Poroxylon soon subdivides into 

 Cordaitales (Cordaites, Dammara, Walchia 

 and Araucaria), Gingkoales and Coniferales. 

 In the latter Taxaceae and Podocaepaceae 

 constitute a primitive side line : later we find 

 Taxodineae, then as another side line Gupres- 

 sineae, while the main line terminates in the 

 close group, Ahies, Tsuga, Pseudotsuga, Picea, 

 Larix, Pityoxylon, Pinus. The last-named 

 genus is regarded as the highest differentia- 

 tion of the Coniferales. 



Charles E. Bessey 



The University of Nebeaska 



Royal Society of London Catalogue of Sci- 

 entific Papers, 1800-1900. Subject Index, 

 volume I., Pure Mathematics, Cambridge; 

 at the University Press. 1908. Pp. Iviii 

 + 666. 



This is the first volume of a subject index, 

 which is to be published as " separate index- 

 volumes for each of the seventeen sciences of 

 the schedule of the International Catalogue, 

 viz., mathematics, mechanics, physics, chem- 

 istry, astronomy, meteorology, mineralogy, 

 geology, geography, paleontology, biology, 

 botany, zoology, anatomy, anthropology, phys- 

 iology and bacteriology." This index will com- 

 plement the great Catalogue of Authors which 

 is being issued by the same society and of 

 which twelve large volumes (1800-1883) have 

 been published, while the volumes covering the 

 period from 1884 to 1900, inclusive, are in 

 preparation. These two catalogues will have 

 close contact with the " International Cata- 

 logue of Scientific Literature " which contains 

 an author and a subject catalogue of the sci- 



entific publications beginning with 1901. 

 The present work is arranged in accordance 

 with the schedules of the different sciences 

 which form the basis of the International 

 Catalogue. 



The preparation of a complete subject index 

 of the scientific papers published during the 

 nineteenth century is an enormous underta- 

 king which can, however, be well justified by 

 the usefulness of such a work when completed. 

 The volume before us is said to contain 38,- 

 748 entries referring to 700 serials. While 

 these numbers may appear large, yet they are 

 too small for a complete index of the mathe- 

 matical papers appearing during the nine- 

 teenth century, and it is not difficult to point 

 out omissions. In fact, a number of fairly 

 well-known mathematical periodicals were 

 overlooked altogether, and a complete list of 

 mathematical papers would have demanded 

 reference to about 1,100 periodicals instead of 

 to 700. As instances of omitted periodicals 

 we may mention, Zeitschrift fur matkemati- 

 schen und naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht 

 and the American Mathematical Monthly. 



Although the volume under review exhibits 

 clear evidences of incompleteness, it contains 

 such a large amount of information in a 

 convenient form that it is difficult to see how 

 a live mathematician can afford to get along 

 without it, especially since there is no other 

 work in existence which can take its place. 

 By limiting itself to periodic literature, 

 it complements Wolffing's " Mathematischer 

 Biicherschatz " (1903), which aims to give a 

 complete list of the most important mathe- 

 matical text-books and monographs published 

 during the nineteenth century. Unfortu- 

 nately, Wolffing's work, arranged under 313 

 headings, is still less complete than the one 

 under review, and presents numerous other 

 evidences of hasty preparation. 



A very commendable feature of this great 

 bibliographical undertaking of the Eoyal 

 Society is that it tends to make it easier to 

 keep in touch with the advances that are 

 being made in several great subjects of sci- 

 entific inquiry. If the volumes devoted to the 

 various subjects are parts of the same set 

 and are arranged according to the same gen- 



