Jakuaet 14, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



71 



II.) by nearly a hundred pages devoted to 

 Theophrastus of Eresos, one of the most in- 

 structive parts of the book. The treatment 

 here illustrates the author's method, who says 

 (p. 60) : " In our study of this maker of the 

 first Landmark in the History of Botany the 

 main object must be that of discovering in 

 what ways, under what limitations, and yet 

 how well, he accomplished the placing knowl- 

 edge of plant life and form upon the list of 

 the- sciences." Accordingly, a dozen pages are 

 given to a discussion of his method, which is 

 in fact continued through nearly thirty pages 

 more under the subtitles Organography and 

 Anthology. After this Phytography (5 pages) 

 leads to Taxonomy (20 pages) and Dendrology 

 (8 pages). The chapter closes with a reca- 

 pitulation in which the author shows that 

 Theophrastus " is the father of the Science 

 as we now have and hold it." 



The short chapter on the Greeks and 

 Eomans after Theophrastus (enumerating 

 Nicander, Cato, Varro, Virgil, Columella, 

 Dioscorides, Pliny and Galen) leads to a still 

 shorter one on the botany of the middle ages, 

 the author remarking in passing that " the 

 period has no apparent landmarks of botanical 

 history." 



Otho Brunfels (chapter V.), who is charac- 

 terized as " first in point of time among the 

 German botanical reformers of the sixteenth 

 century," leads the way to Leonhardus Fuch- 

 sius and Hieronymus Tragus, to each of whom 

 a chapter is assigned. The short chapter 

 (VIII.) devoted to Euricius Cordus leads 

 naturally to the following (IX.) on Valerius 

 Cordus, the son, " hitherto almost unknown 

 except by name." This closing chapter of the 

 volume will be read with keen interest by every 

 botanist, who will learn here for the first time, 

 perhaps, of this brilliant botanist whose death 

 when but twenty-nine years of age closed a 

 life of much achievement and still greater 

 promise. To have rescued the name of Cor- 

 dus and his work from oblivion was a worthy 

 labor, and most zealously has Dr. Greene car- 

 ried it out. He shows that Cordus formulated 

 plans for his plant descriptions, and that with 

 these he redescribed " some of the best known 



and best described plants of Dioscorides,'' 

 which is characterized as " the boldest inno- 

 vation that was made by any botanist of the 

 whole sixteenth century." 



The " Landmarks of Botanical History " 

 will certainly be of the greatest value to bot- 

 anists the world over, since it presents the 

 subject in a new light and from a different 

 point of view. We shall all pray for the con- 

 tinued health and strength of the author, and 

 that opportunity may be afforded him of com- 

 pleting the work to which he has set his hand. 



Charles E. Bessey 

 The Univeksity of Nebkaska 



The Moon in Modern Astronomy. By Ph. 

 Fauth. With an introduction by J. E. 

 Gore, F.E.A.S Pp. 160 with 66 illustra- 

 tions. New York, D. Van Nostrand Com- 

 pany. 1909. 



This attractive book gives a very interest- 

 ing account of the principal features visible 

 on the moon's surface and it embodies the re- 

 sults of over twenty years of careful study with 

 small telescopes. The subject is treated in an 

 historical manner, especial attention being 

 given to the early maps of Lohrmann, Madler 

 and Schmidt. M. Fauth shows that photo- 

 graphic processes have not materially added to 

 our knowledge of lunar conditions. In fixing 

 the relative positions of the larger surface 

 features photographs are more accurate than 

 maps made from eye observations, but for the 

 study of minute detail visual observations, 

 even if made with relatively small telescopes, 

 are superior to the best photographs. 



The most conspicuous features of the 

 moon's surface are the so-caUed " craters." 

 These have heretofore been described as " cup- 

 shaped " mountains and as resembling but 

 greatly exceeding the great volcanic craters 

 of the earth. M. Fauth shows that this con- 

 ception of the lunar " craters " is erroneous, 

 that they are more like shallow dishes, and 

 could more appropriately be called " walled- 

 plains." He shows by figures and by diagrams 

 that in many cases the crater is " so incred- 

 ibly shallow that the eye of an observer on the 

 crest would hardly be able to see the crest on 



