690 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 510. 



experiences.' That plants ' reveal the funda- 

 mental laws of life,' that they ' are favorable 

 for biological experiment ' and that they pre- 

 sent opportunities for the study of ' mass 

 phenomena' (ecology, sociology), suggest the 

 culture value of botanical study. As a repre- 

 sentative scientific study botany may aid in 

 the cultivation of the scientific spirit, which 

 keeps close to the facts. In commenting upon 

 this, the author says : " We are not called 

 upon to construct a theory of the universe 

 even upon every well-attested fact, and the 

 sooner this is learned the more time will be 

 saved and the more functional will the ob- 

 serving powers remain." " Facts are like 

 stepping-stones; so long as one can get a 

 reasonably close series of them he can make 

 some progress ,in a given direction." And 

 again, " As one travels away from a fact its 

 significance in any conclusion becomes more 

 and more attenuated. * * * A fact is only 

 influential in its own immediate vicinity." 

 Yet without some corrective training many a 

 man starts with a single well-attested fact 

 and from it constructs an elaborate system. 

 " There is danger of setting to work a mental 

 machine without giving it suitable material 

 upon which it may operate. * * * It may not 

 be that laboratory science in education is the 

 only agency, apart from common sense, which 

 is correcting this tendency; but it certainly 

 teaches most impressively by object lessons 

 which are concrete, and hence easiest to group, 

 that it is dangerous to stray away very far 

 from the facts, and that the farther one strays 

 away the more dangerous it becomes, and 

 almost invariably lends to self-deception." 



THE BIRCHES. 



Hubert Winkler's contribution to Engler's 

 ' Pflanzenreich ' is a notable addition to our 

 knowledge of the birches and their allies. 

 The family (Betulaceae) is divided into two 

 tribes, Coryleae and Betuleae. In the first are 

 the small genera Ostryopsis (1 species), Ostrya 

 (2 species), Oarpinus (18 species) and Corylus 

 (8 species). In passing we notice that our . 

 American Ostrya is hereafter to be known as 

 0. italica Scopoli, subspecies virginiana 

 (Mill.) H. Winkler. In the second tribe the 



dominant genera Betula (38 species) and 

 AlriMs (17 species) are figured and described. 

 That the treatment is conservative is shown 

 by the fact that of the 84 species described 

 but 9 are new ! These are Oarpinus schu- 

 schaensis, 0. londoniana, C. paxi, 0. stipulata 

 (all from China), 0. grosserrata (Persia), 

 0. hyhrida (Transcaucasia), Betula lumin- 

 ifera, B. haeumheri (both from China) and 

 B. rosae (Korea). Ocie can not help admir- 

 ing the author who has the ability to work 

 over a group such as this, and not find it 

 necessary to split up the common species. It 

 is very certain that there are botanists who 

 would have discovered a dozen valid ( ?) spe- 

 cies in Ostrya italica, as many more in Oar- 

 pinus hetulus and still more in Corylus avel- 

 lana, to say nothing of the possibilities in 

 Betula and Alnus! 



FORESTRY NOTES. 



The ' Forest Manual ' is the title of a use- 

 ful booklet of sixty-four pages issued by the 

 Bureau of Forestry of the Philippine Islands. 

 It contains the forest act which took effect 

 May 20, 1904; extracts from other acts and 

 regulations of the Philippine commission in 

 reference to the forests and their manage- 

 ment; lists of native trees; directions for 

 measuring, etc. The United States Bureau 

 of Forestry has issued a bulletin (No. 52) on 

 ' Forest Planting in Western Kansas,' pre- 

 pared by E. S. Kellogg. After a year or so 

 of careful investigation he says : ' Whatever 

 may be the reasons for the absence of natural 

 forests on the great plains, a close study of 

 established plantations proves that, with an 

 intelligent selection of species and proper 

 care, planted trees can, to a considerable ex- 

 tent, be made to supply the deficiency.' The 

 bulletin abounds in valuable suggestions as 

 to the salvation of species and methods of 

 planting. About twenty-five species are fa- 

 vorably mentioned, including honey locust, 

 osage orange, Russian mulberry, green ash, 

 red cedar, white elm, pines (Scotch and Aus- 

 trian), black locust, hackberry, cottonwood, 

 box elder, silver maple, black walnut, catalpa, 

 etc. — Bulletin 46 of the Bureau of Forestry 

 is devoted to the growth and nianagement of 



