December 29, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



881 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 

 THE AMERICAN BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION. 



A coupi.E of years ago, a number of botan- 

 ists and zoologists joined interests with a 

 number of practical growers of plants and 

 animals and effected an organization of a 

 new society under the name of ' The American 

 Breeders' Association.' The purpose, as set 

 forth in the constitution, adopted at St. Louis, 

 December 29, 1903, is ' to stiidy the laws of 

 breeding and to promote the improvement 

 of plants and animals by the development of 

 expert methods of breeding.' With this ob- 

 ject in view, about seven hundred members 

 have been enrolled. These are, naturally, 

 quite largely drawn from the ranks of prac- 

 tical breeders, but there are many scientific 

 men also, and it is notable that the officers 

 of the association have been very largely 

 chosen from the professors in universities and 

 colleges, and the scientific experts in the ser- 

 vice of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



Two meetings have been held, the first in 

 St. Louis, December, 1903, and the second in 

 Champaign, Illinois, February, 1905. In the 

 first, seventeen papers were read, fully half of 

 which possess more or less interest to the 

 botanist. In the second meeting, twenty- 

 eight papers were presented, with a still larger 

 preponderance of papers relating to plant 

 breeding. Among the papers of especial inter- 

 est to botanists may be noted one by Professor 

 DeYries on ' Investigations into the Heredity 

 of Sporting Varieties,' another by Doctor 

 Webber on ' Cotton Breeding,' one by W. A. 

 Orton on ' Plant Breeding as a Factor in Con- 

 trolling Plant Diseases,' one by Professor 

 Hansen on ' Breeding Mildew-resistant Sand 

 Cherries and Roses ' and one by Dr. George 

 T. Moore on ' Breeding Bacteria.' Other 

 titles equally suggestive to the botanist might 

 be cited, but these will show what the ap- 

 proaching meeting in Lincoln, January 17, 

 18 and 19, is likely to include. The program 

 for this meeting is now being made out. It 

 is understood that, in addition to general ses- 

 sions of the association, there will be joint 

 sessions with the State Horticultural Society, 

 Corn Growers' Association, Live Stock and 



Dairymen's associations. The secretary is 

 Professor W. M. Hays (assistant secretary of 

 agriculture), Washington, D. C. 



METHODS IN PLANT HISTOLOGY. 



A LITTLE more than four years ago, the first 

 edition of Dr. Chamberlain's ' Methods in 

 Plant Histology ' was noticed in these columns 

 (Science, August 16, 1901). Now a second 

 edition has appeared, much improved and con- 

 siderably enlarged. In it so much new mat- 

 ter has been incorporated that the book is in 

 fact a new one and must wholly replace the 

 first edition. The extent of the enlargement 

 may be estimated from the fact that, while the 

 first edition contained 159 pages and 74 fig- 

 ures, the second contains 262 pages and 88 

 figures. Many new methods of work are 

 described in this edition which were but briefly 

 referred to, or were wholly omitted from the 

 first. In the systematic part of the book 

 many more suggestions as to collecting and 

 growing material are given, thus greatly in- 

 creasing its practical value. This edition 

 must prove to be even more useful to botan- 

 ical workers in high school, college and uni- 

 versity laboratories than its predecessor. 



FERNS OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 



Dr. E. B. Copeland has recently made an 

 important addition to our knowledge of the 

 flora of the Philippines by the publication of 

 a descriptive list of the orders of ferns 

 (Polypodiaceae) occurring in the islands. It 

 appears as Bulletin 28 of the government 

 laboratories at Manila, bearing date of July, 

 1905, and covers 139 octavo pages. The gen- 

 eral nature of the fern flora as far as repre- 

 sented in this booklet may be understood from 

 the following analysis. There are eight 

 families represented, as follows : Woodsieae 

 (with 1 genus, and 1 species) ; Aspidieae (9 

 genera, 117 species) ; Davallieae (12 genera, 72 

 species) ; Asplenieae (12 genera, 91 species) ; 

 Pterideae (11 genera, 44 species); Yittarieae 

 (3 genera, 14 species) ; Polypodieae (10 

 genera, 99 species) ; Achrostichieae (4 genera, 

 7 species). The largest genera are Nephrod- 

 ium, (with 60 species), Lindsaya (with 22 

 species), Asplenium (with 36 species), and 



