33 



Lacinaria scariosq (L.) Hill. — A single plant in dry woods at Fleets Xeck, 



Cutchogue. Sept. 14, 1919- ^o- 2245. • 



Solidago ulmifolia Muhl. — Dry hillside at Southold. Sept. i, 1920. Xo. 3394. 



BOOK REVIEW 



Hardy'o Geoirraphy of Plant^* 



The author of this comparatively short volume has dared much 

 in attempting to write a brief account of the plant geography of 

 the earth. In most works devoted to the subject authors are usu- 

 ally content to describe the different plant societies, such as for- 

 ests, grasslands, and the like and mention a few well-known 

 examples of each in the dift'erent countries. Schimper's monu- 

 mental book on plant geography is built on this plan, but the 

 author of the book under review boldly adopts the more inter- 

 esting, if somewhat hazardous, method of taking the dift'erent 

 continents one at a time and briefly describing the vegetation 

 of each. 



It is obviously impossible to give in a short review the scope of 

 the book, for to do so would involve useless repetition of ma- 

 terial from the book itself, and it were better for the prospective 

 reader to go directly to the source. Xo other book in English 

 comes within measurable distance of doing so well what it at- 

 tempts to do. For here both the botanist and intelligent layman 

 will find in plain English a readable account of the vegetation of 

 the different parts of the earth. 



So far as our own continent is concerned the treatment is all 

 that one could expect in a book admittedly general in its scope. 

 The dift'erent forest and grassland and desert regions of the con- 

 tinent are dealt with in some detail, but the chief value of the 

 book is that it gives to those who wnll not or often cannot take 

 the time to study more special works, a clear, readable, and judg- 

 ing by the account of our own vegetation, a reasonably accurate 

 description of the vegetation of the earth. No specialist will go 

 to such a book for his information, but the general botanical 

 reader may be congratulated upon having in it the best short ac- 

 count of the svibject that has appeared. 



Norman Taylor 



* Hardy, M. E. The geography of plants. Pp. 1-327- Oxford University 

 Press, 1920. Price $3.00. 



