September 25, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



451 



in keeping witii the peculiar distribution of 

 these monuments, their comparative nearness 

 everywhere to the sea. 



In " The Evolution of the Eock-cut Tomb 

 and the Dolmen," Elliott Smith would derive 

 the Egyptian mastaba from the neolithic 

 grave. He cites Eeisner to prove how from the 

 simple trench grave of Predynastic times there 

 was gradually developed a type of tomb con- 

 sisting of (1) a multichambered subterranean 

 grave, to which a stairway gave access; (2) a 

 brick-work super-structure (mastaba) in the 

 shape of four walls enclosing a mass of earth 

 or rubble; and (3) an enclosure for offerings 

 in front of the brick superstructure. During 

 the period of the Pyramid-builders the mud- 

 brick rnastaba began to be imitated in stone. 

 Within the masonry of the mastaba, but near 

 the forecourt, is a narrow chamber, usually 

 knovsm by the Arabic name Berdab. Here is 

 placed a statue of the deceased, sometimes also 

 of other members of the family and servants. 

 The statue represents the deceased and is in 

 communication with the outside world through 

 a hole connecting with the forecourt, or chapel. 

 According to Elliott Smith the dolmens 

 scattered over the world from Ireland to Japan 

 are but crude, overgrown and degraded Egyp- 

 tian mastabas, the one feature retained being 

 the serdab, the dwelling of the spirit of the 

 deceased. George Grant MacOurdy 



Tale Univeesitt, 

 New Haven, Conn. 



BOTANICAL NOTES 

 A NEW nature book 



We have had many books on " agriculture " 

 and still more on " nature study," all of which 

 have been more or less helpful, while being at 

 the same time more or less unsatisfactory and 

 it has remained for Professor J. G. ISTeedham 

 to prepare a book which directs the attention 

 of the pupil to both subjects in one view with 

 what appears to be a maximum of helpfulness 

 and a minimum of objectionable features. He 

 calls his book " The Natural History of the 

 Farm" (Oomstock Pub. Co., Ithaca, N. Y.) 

 and tells in his preface that it deals with " the 

 sources of agriculture," meaning by this the 



wild plants, wild animals, the virgin soil, the 

 weather, etc., with which we deal. The idea 

 underlying the treatment is good, and must 

 commend itself to every scientific man. We 

 apprehend that there will be some ultra 

 "practical" critics who will demand more 

 agriculture and less natural history, and yet 

 it has been the writer's observation that just 

 such information as is here given, such sug- 

 gestions as are here made will prove to be the 

 most helpful to the boys and girls in the 

 country schools. Agriculture is no more all 

 cultivation of crops, than is classical culture 

 simply the study of Greek and Latin roots. 

 This book breathes of the farm and of country 

 life, of the wild things, as well as those that 

 we have brought into our fields and stables. 

 It is an attempt to broaden and liberalize agri- 

 culture and to bring it into relation with the 

 things in nature. The topics of some of the 

 chapters will show how this is done: Mother 

 Earth, Wild Fruits of the Farm, Wild Nuts 

 of the Farm, The Farm Stream, Pasture 

 Plants, The Farm Wood-lot, The Wild Mam- 

 mals of the Farm, The Domesticated Mammals, 

 The Lay of the Land, Winter Activities of 

 Wild Animals, Maple Sap and Sugar, What 

 Goes On in the Apple Blossoms, The Clovers, 

 Weeds of the Field, Some Insects at Work on 

 Farm Crops, etc. Surely no boy or girl in the 

 country could use this book without great 

 pleasure and great profit. 



A STUDY OP asters 



Quite recently Charles E. Monroe has pub- 

 lished in the Bulletin of the Wisconsin Na- 

 tural History Society a paper on " The Wild 

 Asters of Wisconsin," which is of more than 

 the usual interest of local lists, or local dis- 

 cussions of groups of species. In his intro- 

 duction the author makes some thoughtful 

 suggestions as to " species " in general, and 

 " species " of asters in particular. Thus he says 



The old notion of a species, as something definite, 

 fixed and stable, nowhere breaks down more com- 

 pletely than when an attempt is made to apply it 

 to the different forms of Aster as we find them in 

 this country. Different species are so connected 

 by intermediate forms that we often feel like ig- 

 noring specific distinctions and grouping two or 



