24 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 366. 



Under biological and ecological relations, 

 the author treats briefly of the forest flora, 

 in which are included shrubby-plant associa- 

 tions and arboreal-plant associations, ever- 

 green and deciduous, the campestrian flora, 

 the water and swamp flora, including the hy- 

 drocharidean, lithophytic, limntean and palus- 

 trian classes, and of the organotopic flora, 

 comprising epiphytic, saprophytic, symbiotic 

 and parasitic plant associations. This is fol- 

 lowed by an interesting discussion of intro- 

 duced plants, which are regarded as natural- 

 ized, adventive and fugitive. The more de- 

 tailed consideration of the vegetation is 

 taken up under plant distribution, in connec- 

 tion with the Carolinian and Louisianian 

 areas. In delimiting the two the author makes 

 use of 'truly zonal jslants,' which, except in 

 restricted formations, usually of hypdrophytic 

 stamp, are illusive. The Carolinian area falls 

 into the mountain region, the table-lands, the 

 region of the Tennessee Valley and the lower 

 hill country. Under each is given a summary 

 of the physiographical features and climate, 

 and a discussion of the various formations, 

 grouped as serophile and mesophile forests, 

 and xerophile, mesophile and hydroi)hytic 

 plant associations. The Louisianian area is 

 likewise divided into several regions, central 

 pine belt, central prairie, maritime pine and 

 coast plain, in which the treatment of the 

 formations is similar. 



Notwithstanding the valuable information 

 now made available for the first time in the 

 part just considered, the second part is a more 

 important coijtribution. It contains an excel- 

 lent catalogue of the entire flora, in which arc 

 enumerated more than 4,500 plants, of which 

 2,500 are flowering plants and upward of 2,000 

 cryptogams, numbers which indicate an ex- 

 treme richness and diversity of vegetation. 

 The large list of fungi, which is contributed 

 by Professor Earle, is a testimony of the 

 energy and industry of a few workers, notably 

 Peters, Atkinson, Underwood and Earle. The 

 algae are apparently little known as yet, a fact 

 which explains the preponderance of anthro- 

 pytes in the list. The entries of the flowering 

 plants are models of floristic cataloguing. The 

 bibliography is full, and indications of range. 



both State and continental, are given with 

 unusual care. The type locality is indicated 

 wherever knovwi, as is also the disposition of 

 the Alabama exsiccati. Altogether the catalogue 

 is the most complete and painstaking State 

 list so far contributed to American botany. 

 The book closes with a list of the plants culti- 

 vated in Alabama, a tabular statement of the 

 plants of the State, and a very satisfactory 

 index. 



Frederic E. Clements. 

 The University or Nebkaska. 



TWO PAPERS ON ANIMAL MECHANICS. 



Ueher die Beivegungen in den Handgelenhen, 

 von Rudolf Fick; Ueher die Beivegungen 

 des Fusses u. s. w., von Otto Fischer ; both 

 in the 26th volume of the Abhandlungen der 

 Math. phys. Classe der Konig. Sachsischen 

 Gesellschaft der Wissen., Leipzig, 1901. 

 These papers are alike, but in some respects 

 quite different. In the former Fick discusses 

 the movements of the bones of the wrist as 

 shown by the X-rays, and though mathematics 

 are not avoided, they are rather subordinate to 

 the results of observation. Thus anyone who 

 is suiHciently at home in the anatomy of the 

 hand can follow the author ijrovided only he 

 take pains enough. Fischer's paper is the 

 fourth part of his 'Gang des Menschen' in 

 which the share of the foot in the walk is 

 scientifically and mathematically studied. This 

 puts it beyond the reach of most readers. With- 

 out pretending to be able to appreciate it, we 

 think we run little risk, from the reputation of 

 the author, in recommending it to students 

 of this field. 



The paper on the wrist is one that, while 

 very valuable, is not of very general interest 

 to readers other than anatomists. Since the 

 introduction of the X-ray, hands, as con- 

 venient objects, have been photographed every- 

 where, and several anatomists have given at- 

 tention to the movements of the bones. So 

 far as the results obtained from the dead bod.y 

 go, we are not inclined to modify the opinion 

 which we have expressed, namely, that the 

 X-rays have done little more than confirm 

 what was already known of the movements of 

 the wrist. (This must however be understood 



