July 25, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



157 



ill addition to some investigations of the au- 

 thors themselves. The book follows the gen- 

 eral plan of its predecessor, but no attemxJt is 

 made to give it the form of a connected rec- 

 ord. The earlier book must be in the hands 

 of the reader in order that the results here 

 given may be understood. The original 

 papers are summarized under their proper 

 headings, and references are made to the 

 places of publication. The attempt has been 

 made 'to reproduce the authors' main con- 

 clusions, and in most cases without connnent 

 or criticism.' 



It is quite impossible to review a book of 

 this kind; it must he read by the person in- 

 terested. To show the value of the book to 

 plant physiologists we may quote from the 

 introductory chapter (pp. 8, 9) : " These re- 

 searches of Fenton's appear to us to have the 

 most obvioiis and direct bearings upon the 

 genetic relationships of the plant furfuroids, 

 and not only per se. To give them their full 

 significance we must recall the later researches 

 of Bro^vn and Morris, which establish that 

 cane sugar is a primary or direct product of 

 assimilation, and that starch, which had been 

 assumed to be a species of universal matiere 

 premiere, is probably rather a general reserve 

 for the elaborating work of the plant." 



STUDIES OF THE STRUCTURE OF MOSSES. 



We have had occasion heretofore to call 

 the attention of botanists, especially of non- 

 professionals, to the help that may be ob- 

 tained from certain special periodicals which 

 are too often overlooked by the very persons 

 who might receive benefit. It is all very well 

 for the general student of science to read 

 general journals, but he misses much if he 

 does not read these special journals also. 

 Thus there are many amateur botanists who 

 are interested in the structure and classifica- 

 tion of the mosses who would be greatly 

 helped by reading the papers in the current 

 numbers of the Bryologist. Dr. Grout, the 

 editor, began some months ago a series of 

 papers on the peristome of the moss fruit, and 

 from those which have appeared we may 

 judge as to the high value they will have for 

 the beginner in bryology. Every one who 



has attempted to work the mosses has found 

 out that this is one of the difilcult structures 

 to understand, and for the solitary student 

 who has no handy and obliging professor to 

 whom to appeal such help as is given in Dr. 

 Grout's papers must prove invaluable. 



THK IGNORING OF BEGINNERS AND AMATEURS. 



When we take up special journals like that 

 referred to above, we are reminded that the 

 beginner has a hard time of it now-a-days. 

 Most journals ignore him — that is, journals 

 of high standing and scientific reputation. 

 One is sometimes tempted to wish that the 

 large botanical journals might not forget that 

 there are a great many people who are still 

 beginners in botany, and that there always will 

 be many beginners. The writer remembers 

 when the American journals of botany were 

 edited by beginners, for beginners, and he 

 wonders whether they were not even more 

 iiseful than now, for they offered to other be- 

 ginners a means for ' getting up in the world,' 

 which they scarcely do to-day. Then they 

 were botanical ladders let down in the midst 

 of students who wanted to learn, but now 

 these ladders have been pulled away above 

 the reach of the beginner. This is not always 

 the fault of the editors. Not long ago an 

 editor, in commenting upon the suggestion 

 that this journal should contain more for 

 beginners and amateurs, said that he had 

 been criticised repeatedly by prominent sci- 

 entific men for admitting even a very little 

 of such elementary matter. Evidently some 

 men who attain eminence forget the helps 

 which enabled them to succeed, a state of 

 mind which is certainly not to be commended. 

 Let such repeat to themselves the test : ' For 

 none of us liveth to himself.' No man should 

 be impatient of the elementary work which is 

 so necessary in order that beginners in science 

 may attain to something. 



CmuiLES E. Bessey. 



The Un^'eesity of Nebraska. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 

 M. BouviER has been elected a member of 

 the Paris Academy of Sciences in the section 

 of anatomy and zoology. Others who received 



