316 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVI. No. 1187 



that the dimensions of the illustrations are 

 perfectly true, but had a few measurements 

 been given with each illustration this prob- 

 ability might have become a certainty. 



The work incites, but does not satisfy ; which 

 should not be taken as criticism, but rather as 

 a stimulus for the future. We need more than 

 tracings. We need, in a most precise form, 

 every possible detail concerning the cranium 

 as well as the rest of the skeletal and physical 

 make-up of the Australian; and may Drs. 

 Berry and Robertson be soon in a position to 

 give us this information. 



Ales Hrdlicka 



The Culture and Diseases of the Sweet Pea. 



By J. J. Taubenhaus. New York, E. P. 



Button & Co. Pp. XX + 232. 



In the preface the announcement is made 

 that this book is primarily intended to be a 

 practical treatise for use by both growers of 

 sweet peas and investigators. Those inter- 

 ested in the culture of this plant will no doubt 

 find this book a very useful and helpful guide. 

 It is among the few books which deal with 

 both the culture and diseases of one particular 

 crop. The author's reason for including both 

 phases in the same treatise is naive in that 

 " the attack of most plant diseases depends 

 on some weak point in the cultural methods 

 which has weakened the host at some phase 

 of its life history." 



The first eighty-nine pages are devoted to 

 explicit cultural directions which have been 

 prepared for the author by specialists. The 

 following ninety-five pages are given to a con- 

 sideration of greenhouse and field troubles, 

 including nine diseases of fungous origin, one 

 of bacterial origin and a brief summary of 

 the several insect pests. Due space is given 

 in the closing chapters, in a clear, concise 

 manner, to methods of prevention and con- 

 trol of these maladies. 



The essential facts in the author's several 

 important investigations on the diseases of 

 sweet peas are summarized in this book, yet 

 it is believed that the investigator would pre- 

 fer to consult the original reports. The 

 grower, himself, can best judge of the author's 



success in avoiding the use of technical terms. 

 This same difficulty which confronts every 

 teacher of elementary plant pathology has 

 been encountered, and if one were to put him- 

 self in the position of the average reader he 

 would find himself at times in a maze of mean- 

 ingless terms. Certainly the person of less 

 than collegiate training would find himself 

 hopelessly lost if he attempted to wade through 

 certain paragraphs in this book and at such 

 points, one is even disposed to wonder what 

 verbiage the author would have chosen had 

 he purposed to use technical terms. 



The binomial Ascochyta pisi Lib. was prob- 

 ably employed because it is better known than 

 is the name for the ascigerous stage. 



The book is well and amply illustrated, is 

 unusually free from typographical errors and 

 gives the impression of being condensed yet 

 complete. It shoiild have a place in the refer- 

 ence library of plant pathologists and of grow- 

 ers of sweet peas. F. A. Wolf 



North Carolina Agric. Exper. Sta., 

 West Ealeigh, N. C. 



FIELD CONFERENCE OF CEREAL 

 PATHOLOGISTS 



The Third Annual Field Conference of 

 Cereal Pathologists of the American Phyto- 

 pathological Society was held at Madison, 

 Wisconsin, on July 9, 10 and 11. About forty 

 were in attendance at the various meetings. 

 The following program was presented : 



MONDAY, JULY 9 



The forenoon was spent in visiting the plant 

 pathology laboratories of the University of 

 Wisconsin. In the afternoon, after a discus- 

 sion by Dr. A. G. Johnson upon " Imperfect 

 Fungi causing Cereal Diseases," the session 

 was continued in the field, where Dr. John- 

 son's experimental plots were examined. In 

 the evening a supper and smoker were given 

 at the University Club, and in the round-table 

 discussion which followed, the following dis- 

 cussions were given : 



1. Grass rusts and their role in cereal con- 

 servation; Leaders, Dr. J. 0. Arthur, Dr. E. 

 C. Stahman. Dr. Arthur gave a historical dis- 



