May 10, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



-yll 



as in the earlier ones, the author has en- 

 deavored to keep abreast of the times, and 

 we find mentioned here the results of recent 

 synthetical experiments, such as those upon 

 the sugars ; and many new substances that 

 in recent years have become prominent lie- 

 cause of their medicinal properties have 

 been inti-oduced. "While the book is not 

 intended to be a text-book in the ordinary 

 sense, nor to sei've as an introduction to 

 the science, it can, nevertheless, be stronglj- 

 recommended to all students of chemistry, 

 who, in connection with their lecture and 

 laboratory courses, desire to have a con- 

 venient and compact reference book — a- 

 book containing all the more important 

 facts of general and descriptive chemistrj- 

 clearly stated and provided with an ex- 

 cellent index. Edward H. Keiser. 



eluded, but the Southern native flora is 

 almost wholly omitted, so that in this re- 

 spect the title is misleading. As a guide to 

 the cultivated species it will find its greatest 

 value. It is our opinion, however, that if 

 the scope of the work had been restricted 

 to the domesticated flora, and tlie descrip- 

 tions of these plants been more fully drawn 

 out, it would have been more generally 

 serviceable than by treating them with the 

 native species. 



The necessitj' which has been felt of 

 making the book a companion to the 

 ' Manual ' has kept up the old and unfor- 

 tunate arrangement of groups which we 

 find in that work, although we are pleased 

 to find that the Gymnosperms have been 

 brought into their logical position. 



X. L. B. 



Field, Forest and Garden. Botany. A simple 

 introduction to the common plants of the 

 United States east of the 100th Meridian, 

 both wild and cultivated. By Asa Gray. 

 Revised and extended by L. H. Bailey. 

 American Book Co. 1895. 8vo. pp. -519. 

 The first edition of this useful popular 

 botanj- was issued in 1S6S as a comj)aniou 

 book to the author's ' Manual of the Botany 

 of the Northern United States.' The present 

 revision is planned to fill the same place as 

 relates to the sixth edition of the ■ Manual,' 

 giving, as it does, concise descriptions of the 

 more common native plants, and of the 

 large number of species cultivated for use 

 or ornament. The number of the latter 

 category has greatly increased during the 

 twenty-seven years which have elapsed 

 since the first issue of the work, and as re- 

 gards these the treatment is exceedingly 

 complete. The selection of the ' common ' 

 native species has been a matter of gi-eat 

 difficulty, and in this the book will prob- 

 ably be found unsatisfactory. The more 

 usual plants of the region north of Virginia 

 and Tennessee are for the most part iu- 



Description des ravageun de la vigne. Insects 

 et champignons parasites. Hexri Joli- 

 coeuk. 4°. Riems et Paris. 1894. Pp. 

 viii., 236, pi. 20. 



This sumptuous volume ^vitll large pages 

 and wide margins is one of the latest con- 

 tributions to the rapidly increasing litera- 

 ture of disease of plants. The French have 

 always taken the gi-eatest interest in dis- 

 eases of the vine, and quite naturallj-, be- 

 cause of the extent of the industrj- in their 

 country. The author of the present vol- 

 ume is the general secretary of tlie Society 

 of Viticulture and Horticulture of Reims, 

 and while he brings to the subject a knowl- 

 edge of what various French authors have 

 to say upon the subjects discussed, from its 

 pages there never could be gleani-d the fact 

 that the English speaking races had ever 

 done any work upon the various diseases. 

 This is, perhaps, a general fault of the 

 French, since they are so imbued with ad- 

 miration for their own countiy that other 

 countries hold a very subordinate place. 



The work under notice is divided into 

 two parts, one treating of parasitic ani- 



