56 Muhleiiberg-ia. Voluine 7 



adapted to the use of summer visitors to the forests who may 

 wish an introduction to the trees in whose goodly company they 

 find themselves. Its size suits it to the pocket, and its simple 

 and untechnical descriptions demand no botanical knowledge 

 for the identification of the trees. A further aid is afforded by 

 good photogravures of each species and line drawings of the 

 fruit. The author modestly disclaims being a botanist, but bot- 

 anists will not find matter for criticism in his pages, which is 

 not always the case with books which attempt to popularize 

 science. 



The paper in which Professor Abrams presents some of the 

 results of his herbarium and field studies of the southern Cali- 

 fornia flora is a most interesting and valuable contribution to 

 knowledge of the distribution of the ligneous and lignescent 

 plants of that region. He begins his paper with a few pages 

 devoted to the physiography and climatology of the southern 

 counties, and then discusses in detail the various phytogeograph- 

 ical divisions and subdivisions which result therefrom. With 

 the exception of the confused and isolated remnants of a Boreal 

 flora which occupies the summits of the highest mountains, the 

 whole remaining region is Austral, in which Merriam's three 

 zones are readily distinguishable. These, and their several sub- 

 ordinate components, are described, and the characteristic trees 

 and shrubs belonging in each are listed. The author does not 

 explain why he omits all reference to the flora of the coast 

 islands, whose origin and development present a problem full of 

 interest, nor does he bring out as clearly as could be desired the 

 zonal interpenetrations and insulations characteristic of the 

 southern California flora. 



The larger part of the paper is devoted to an annotated list 

 of the trees and shrubs, the value of which is greatly enhanced 

 by the keys provided for the families and genera. Under each 

 species the type locality is cited in the original words, and the 

 distribution, both general and in southern California, is defined. 

 Then follows a list of the specimens examined, which are largely 

 of the author's own collecting, an evidence of the wide extent 

 of his field work. Where necessary sufficient svnonymy is cited, 



