April 27, 1900.] 



SCm'NCE. 



673 



terest to the general botanist, since it is given 

 over almost wholly to a discussion of the creta- 

 ceous flora of the region. Much space is given 

 to the fossil cycads which have been found in 

 abundance in several areas within the Black 

 Hills. These are all referred to the genus 

 Cycadeoidea, of Buckland, of which twenty-two 

 species are described, twenty being new to 

 science. The great majority of these were 

 found in the Minnekahta region in the southern 

 part of the Hills, the remainder occurring in 

 the Blackhawk region on the eastern side. The 

 fossil forests receive considerable attention also. 

 These occur in the Minnekahta, Blackhawk, 

 and Hay Creek regions, the latter on the north- 

 ern side of the Black Hills. The systematic 

 position of the trees here found as fossils, has 

 not been determined, as the structure of the 

 wood has been too much obscured in the proc- 

 ess of silicification. One specimen of fossil 

 wood turned out to be a new species of Aran- 

 carioxylon. Other fossil plants from the lower 

 Cretaceous enumerated in this paper are, 

 nineteen species of pteridophytes, twenty-six 

 gymnosperms (in addition to those already 

 mentioned), four dicotyledons, and six fruits 

 of uncertain relationship. From the Dakota 

 group there are, one pteridophyte and seven 

 dicotyledons. One hundred and sixteen plates, 

 several maps and a few wood cuts amply illus- 

 trate this interesting paper. 



THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE OP MINERAL 

 NUTRIENTS. 



An important paper {Bulletin 18) by Dr. 

 Oscar Loew of the Division of Vegetable Phys- 

 iology and Pathology is devoted to the discus- 

 sion of the physiological role of the mineral 

 nutrients of plants. After an introductory 

 chapter the role of phosphoric acid, iron com- 

 pounds, hydrogen compounds, alkali salts, and 

 calcium and magnesium salts are taken up in 

 succession. A full review will appear later, 

 this note being intended merely to call the atten- 

 tion of biologists to a paper which must prove 

 to be of great value to them. 



THE FOREST RESERVES OF THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



Henry Gannett, geographer to the United 

 States Geological Survey, publishes in the nine- 



teenth annual report a collection of papers on 

 the forests of the West, especially of the forest 

 reserves created by executive order of Presi- 

 dent Cleveland about four years ago (Feb. 22, 

 1896). It is a thick royal octavo volume of 

 400 pages, illustrated with 110 plates, most of 

 which are fine ' half tones ' from photographs. 

 A thick packet of maps, also, accompanies the 

 volume. A study of the illustrations and maps, 

 alone, tells the tale of wanton waste, which has 

 been characteristic of our treatment of the for- 

 est covering of our country from the beginning. 

 The lumberman who is only anxious to get out 

 the best trees with the least expenditure of 

 time and money, caring nothing for the future 

 of the forest, and the careless ' camper ' who 

 leaves his fire for the winds to spread through 

 the forest, together are devasting the western 

 forests, as they have the eastern. No one can 

 glance over this volume and not feel indignant 

 over the heedlessness shown by the people who 

 take possession of the forest lands of the Nation. 

 Here and there nature is making an effort to 

 reforest the denuded areas, showing us what 

 we might do easily in the way of preserving 

 these forest areas for our children. These res- 

 ervations came none too soon, and yet we re- 

 member with what bitterness the President was 

 assailed by greedy lumbermen, and a certain 

 class of politicians always eager to curry local 

 favor. 



We may quote one paragraph from the paper 

 by John B. Leiberg on the forest conditions of 

 northern Idaho. " There can be no doubt as 

 to what the future will bring. The complete 

 destruction of the forest in this region as a com- 

 mercial factor is beyond question, unless the 

 forest is placed at once under effective super- 

 vision. At the present time less than 40 per 

 cent, of the burnt areas are reforesting, and 

 sections carrying the young growth are re- 

 burned annually. Sixty per cent, are either in 

 the brush stage or would be entirely barren but 

 for small quantities of coarse grasses or weeds. 

 These tracts will nearly all reforest in time, 

 but to accomplish this result fires must be kept 

 down. The forest conditions prevailing in 

 northern Idaho merely foreshadow future forest 

 conditions elsewhere in the wooded districts in 

 the west." 



