80 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 3. 



carelessness engendered bj^ delaj'ed casu- 

 alty, suddenly become tbe scenes of disaster 

 and great loss of life. M. Le Chatelier has 

 brought together a great mass of facts from 

 many sources and has so presented them as 

 to place them conveniently within reach of 

 all workers m the field. Part I. treats of 

 the nature and production of fire damp, its 

 composition, manner of exj)losion, its limit 

 of inflammability, and other properties, phy- 

 sical and chemical. Part II. is highly prac- 

 tical and is devoted to the consideration of 

 the immediate cause of accidents, with pre- 

 cautions against the same, the use of safety 

 lamps and of safety explosives, etc. To 

 those desii'ing a more extended treatment of 

 any of these subjects, or those wishhig to 

 consult original papers, the very complete 

 Bibliography which is given at the end of the 

 work will be of great service, particularly 

 as a guide to continental publications. 



Charles Platt. 

 Philadelphia. 



At the North of Bear camp Water. — Chronicles 

 of a Stroller in Neiv England from July to 

 December. — By Feank Bolles. — Hough- 

 ton, Miflain & Co., 16 mo. pp. 297. 

 Any one who will go afield in the rain 

 for the purpose of seeing how the wet birch 

 trees look, or who will stay through a stormy 

 night on a mountaiu top for the sake of the 

 scenerj', has certaialy a lively interest in 

 nature. The late Frank Bolles had all of 

 this interest and in addition a kindly sym- 

 pathy with every wandering creature. In 

 his last book. At the North of Bearcamp 

 Water, one does not find as manj^ paragraphs 

 suitable for quotations on a daily calendar 

 as would occur in a volume of Thoreau, but 

 his description of a July afternoon when 

 "The air was full of quivering heat and 

 hazy midsummer softness," has all the 

 strength of beauty and truth. 



The book particularly describes nature in 

 the vicinity of Chocorua mountahi, but 

 there are also chapters on Old Shag, Bear 



and other White Mountain peaks. In these 

 accounts of scenery of deer, foxes, birds and 

 trees there is an evident truthftilness, as 

 real as the objects themselves. Tlie mass 

 of detail brought into some of these chapters 

 is surprising, and a frog did not jump 

 across the path without being made to play 

 his part in the account of the day's ramble. 

 Among the most interesting pages are 

 those devoted to ' A Lonely Link,' and to 

 ' A Night Alone on Chocorua.' Mr. Bolles 

 had his red roofed cottage bj- the lake and 

 describes the squh-rels, muskrats, porcu- 

 piaes, and many birds that were his 

 neighbors. The narrative is peaceful in 

 tone, as restful as a quiet ramble in the 

 woods, and those who wish to be trans- 

 ported in spu'it to pleasing natural scenes 

 will do well to accept Mi". Bolles as guide. 

 AV. T. Davis. 



NOTES. 

 THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. 



The Botanical Society of America was 

 organized during the meeting of the Ameri- 

 can Association for the Advancement of 

 Science at Brooklyn, N. Y., in August, 

 1894. The following exti'acts from the Con- 

 stitution adopted are of general interest. 



" There may be two classes of members — 

 active and honorary. Only American bot- 

 anists engaged in research, who have pub- 

 lished work of recognized merit, shall be 

 eligible to active membership. Before the 

 1st of January following his election, each 

 active member shall pay into the treasury 

 of the Society a fee of twenty-five dollars 

 ($25), and thereafter annual dues to the 

 amount often dollars ($10), payable before 

 the 1st of January." 



" Candidates for active membership shall 

 be recommended by three active members 

 of the Society not members of the Council, 

 who shall certify that the candidate is elig- 

 ible under the provisions of the Constitu- 

 tion. These nominations shall be placed in 



