200 



he was a great figure in American botany, because of the stimulus 

 he gave to the study of our science. Other botanists there had been 

 and were, but only one of these, Benjamin Smith Barton, was 

 particularly noted as a teacher ; the circle of his influence was not 

 large, and he died at a comparatively early age. Cultured people 

 flocked to Eaton's lectures and were inspired by them, and he was 

 the author of the first popular manual for the identification of our 

 native plants. He was by no means as profound a botanical student 

 as some of his contemporaries, but he was a good botanist, and 

 devoted particular attention to the widest possible diffusion of such 

 knowledge as he possessed. This constitutes his claim to remem- 

 brance by posterity. 



The volume before us gives evidence of extensive and pains- 

 taking research, and the results are presented clearly and pleas- 

 ingly. Perhaps the most confusing part of the book is in the few 

 pages devoted to Eaton's "family life." The treatment here is full 

 and accurate, but it is necessary to read and reread it before one 

 can feel at all sure just how many wives and children Eaton really 

 had ; the number of each was unusually large. 



A 55-page bibliography of the sources, both manuscript and 

 printed, consulted in the preparation of the work, precedes the 

 index. This is remarkable, not only for the large number of entries 

 (more than 900), but for the exasperating incompleteness of detail 

 in the case of many of them. The 666 letters are listed in detail, 

 with names of writers and addressees, dates, and present location. 



John Hendley Barnhart 

 New York Botanical Garden 



A Bacteriology Laboratory Guide 



Laboratory Guide in Elementary Bacteriology. By M. S. Marshall. The 

 Blakiston Company, Philadelphia. 1941. Pp. 244. $1.75. 



This is an unusual manual for beginning students in the study 

 of bacteria. The subject matter is presented in such a way that 

 analysis, thought and interpretation take precedence over the routine 

 performance of the experiment. The material is presented from 

 the standpoint that few students will pursue the subject further. 



The manual is divided into six sections which include: Intro- 

 ductory Technique, Morphology, Physiology, Applied Bacteriology, 



