OCTOBEE 12, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



571 



isting trees approach the age of two thousand 

 years. 



LOCAL DESCEIPTIVE FLORAS. 



It is a good sign of the progress of syste- 

 matic botany in North America that there is an 

 increase in the number of floras of restricted 

 regions in preparation by local botanists. Of 

 course the authors of such floras usually suc- 

 ceed in adding something to the burden of 

 botanical synonymy, but this is more than bal- 

 anced by the additions made to our knowledge 

 of the particular distribution of the species, 

 and the geographical variations which some of 

 them show. The ' Flora of Northwest Amer- 

 ica,' by Thomas Howell, and the 'Manual of 

 the Flowering Plants of Iowa,' by T. J. Fitz- 

 patrick, now publishing in parts, are good illus- 

 trations of systematic work. Of the former 

 three parts, and of the latter two parts have 

 appeared. 



Mr. Howell's publication is more radical in 

 its treatment of species, many being recog- 

 nized as distinct which are usually not separated 

 by botanists. In his preface he says : ' ' Be- 

 lieving that if a plant has one constant charac- 

 ter that is different from any of its congeners 

 it is suflicient for a species ; and if that plant 

 is sufiiciently distinct from others to deserve a 

 name it is better to have it described as a dis- 

 tinct species than as a variety of some other 

 species. I have, therefore, raised nearly all 

 published varieties of the region embraced in 

 this work to specific rank." 



Mr. Fitzpatrick is more conservative, and 

 follows more closely the common usage in this 

 regard. In one particular he is quite abreast 

 of the most radical of botanical writers, namely, 

 in decapitalizing all [specific names, and the 

 omission of the comma before the authority. 



In both books the descriptions are well drawn, 

 and good keys serve to guide the student. One 

 or two more parts of each should finish these 

 useful books. 



THE MRS. CURTISS MEMORIAL. 



Many botanists remember with pleasure the 

 dainty specimens of marine algse collected by 

 Mrs. Floretta A. Curtiss, for many years a re- 

 sident of Jacksonville, Florida. Year after 

 year the little fascicles of exquisitely prepared 



specimens were ofiered to those who were in- 

 terested in algffi, and who wished them for 

 their herbaria. On March 3, 1899, she died in 

 the seventy-seventh year of her life. Her son, 

 A. H. Curtiss, the well-known botanical col- 

 lector, has prepared a memorial, including a 

 biographical sketch, and an index to her col- 

 lections of algse. This is in the form of a 

 twenty-page folio pamphlet printed on heavy 

 paper and illustrated with half-tone repro- 

 ductions of photographs of the places where 

 she lived while in pursuit of her favorite plants. 

 Mrs. Curtiss was born in 1822, in what was 

 then the wilderness of central New York, not 

 far from the present city of Syracuse. She 

 came from New England stock, both parents 

 being natives of Massachusetts. Immediately 

 after the Civil War she removed with her hus- 

 band to Virginia, and in 1875 with her son she 

 took up her residence in Florida. Here she 

 soon began the work of collecting algse, — 

 which she continued to the close of her life. 

 Science owes her a debt of gratitude for the 

 years of painstaking labor which she gave to 

 the gathering and preservation of specimens, 

 which have enriched the botanical collections 

 of the World's great herbaria. 



Charles E. Bessey. 

 The University of Nebraska. 



THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIA- 

 TION. 



This Association will meet at Indianapolis 

 from October 22d to 26th, under the presidency 

 of Dr. Peter H. Bryce. There is a special sec- 

 tion of bacteriology and chemistry, of which 

 Professor Theobald Smith is Chairman. The 

 subjects on which special committees have been 

 appointed to make reports are : 



1. ' The Pollution of Public Water Supplies ' ; 2. 

 ' The Disposal of Refuse Material ' ; 3. Animal Dis- 

 eases and Animal Food'; 4. 'Car Sanitation '; 5. 

 ' Etiology of Yellow Fever ' ; 6. ' Steamship and 

 Steamboat Sanitation ' ; 7. ' Eelation of Forestry to 

 the Public Health ' ; b. ' Demography and Statistics 

 in their Sanitary Relation ' ; 9. ' Cause and Preven- 

 tion of Infectious Diseases '; 10. Public Health Leg- 

 islation '; 11. The Duration of Infectious Diseases'; 

 12. ' Cause and Prevention of Infant Mortality '; 13. 

 ' Disinfectants ' ; 14. ' Municipal Sanitary Adminis- 



