676 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVI. No. 672 



Edward K. Putnam read at the Augnstana 

 College celebration of the two hundredth 

 anniversary of the birth of the great Swedish 

 botanist. It has now been published in The 

 Popular Science Monthly (October, 1907). 



Dr. C. L. Shear publishes a valuable bulletin 

 (No. 110 of the Bureau of Plant Industry, U. 

 S. Department of Agriculture) on " Cranberry 

 Diseases." In it he brings together what he 

 has hitherto published in smaller papers, and 

 thus makes the first full account of the 

 diseases of the cranberry due to fungi. It is 

 illustrated by seven full-page plates, two of 

 which are colored. The diseases discussed at 

 length are " scald " (due to Ouignardia vac- 

 cinii), "rot" (due to Acanthorhynchus vac- 

 cinii), " anthracnose " (due to Olomerella 

 rufomaculans vaceinii) and " hypertrophy " 

 (caused by Exohasidium oxycocci). Thirteen 

 additional species of fungi attacking the fruit 

 and producing diseases of less importance re- 

 ceive briefer treatment, while seventeen more 

 occurring on leaves or stems are noticed and 

 still more briefly discussed. Several pages are 

 devoted to preventive and remedial measures. 

 A bibliography of cranberry diseases including 

 sixty titles closes this important paper. 



Dr. H. L. Shantz's " Biological Study of the 

 Lakes of the Pike's Peak Region " in the 

 Transactions of the American Microscopical 

 Society (Vol. XXVII.), although largely 

 given to a description of the zoological phase 

 of the matter is a valuable paper for the 

 botanist who is interested in plankton studies. 

 Dr. Shantz brings out many interesting facts 

 in regard to the vegetation of a dozen or more 

 lakes ranging from 1,800 to over 3,300 meters 

 above sea level. 



Professor Stanley Coulter and Herman B. 

 Dorner, of Purdue University, have issued a 

 handy " Key to the Genera of the Native 

 Forest Trees and Shrubs of Indiana " which 

 must prove very helpful to pupils and teachers 

 in the public schools, as well as to some col- 

 lege students. The key is of the strictly 

 dichotomous kind, and so while quite " arti- 

 ficial " is very easily used. Two plates and a 

 two-page glossary complete the duodecimo, 24- 



page pamphlet. It is supplied to schools for 

 twenty cents. 



A useful 80-page bulletin (No. 107), pre- 

 pared by Alice Henkel, has just been issued 

 by the Bureau of Plant Industry (U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture) under the name of 

 " American Hoot Drugs." From it we leam 

 that " more than half of the root drugs in the 

 Eighth Decennial Revision of the United 

 States Pharmacopoeia occur in this country, 

 some native and not growing elsewhere, and 

 others introduced." In all fifty such drugs 

 are described, and with the description of the 

 drug there are given botanical and common 

 names, habitat and range, description of the 

 plant, with notes as to cultivation, collection, 

 prices, and uses of the drug. Twenty-five 

 text figures and twenty-eight reproductions of 

 photographs of as many plants serve to make 

 this paper still more useful. 



Under the title of " The Roots of Lyeopo- 

 dium pithyoides " Alma Gr. Stokey describes 

 in the July Botanical Gazette the curious phe- 

 nomenon of the formation of " inner roots " 

 which run down inside of the stem, boring 

 their, way through the cortical tissues, and 

 finally emerging at or near the base of the 

 stem. 



In a recent paper Dr. R. P. Hibbard gives 

 (Botanical Gazette, June, 1907) the results of 

 his experiments made to determine the effect 

 of prolonged tension upon the formation of 

 mechanical tissue in plants. By ingenious 

 devices he subjected stems and roots to tension 

 and compression. The results showed that the 

 response of the plant was generally not great, 

 although usually noticeable. 



From his investigations of pollen formation 

 in Cucurbitaceae (Bulletin Torrey Botanical 

 Club, Vol. 34, pp. 221-242) J. E. Kirkwood is 

 able to confirm the conclusions of other ob- 

 servers, and to add somewhat to our knowledge 

 of the karyokinetic stages. 



One of the best attempts to formulate the 

 work in botany for the high schools is that of 

 Professor R. Kent Beattie, of the Washington 

 State College. It is issued by the State Su- 

 perintendent of Public Instruction as High 



