names we have at last progressed to a graphically written, 

 elegantly printed. beaulifulK' illustrated flora, full of informa- 

 tion for the i^rofcssional botanist and equally replete with in- 

 spiration for the amateur. Surel\- the botanists of the Chicago 

 region are to be envied on having available such a remarkable 

 handbook, just as the author is to be complimented for its prep- 

 aration and the Chicago Academy of Sciences for its publication. 



The Chicago area has the shape of a broad crescent along the 

 shore of Lake Michigan, which forms its eastern concave bound- 

 ary-. Its conve.x western and southern boundary leaves the shore 

 near the Wisconsin-Illinois line and sweeps in a great curve 

 through Elgin and Joliet, Illinois, and Crown Point, Indiana, 

 again reaching the lake in the famous sand-dune country east of 

 Gary. Its maximum dimensions are approximately thirty-five 

 and eighty-five miles. The greater part of this area was occu- 

 pied in early post-glacial time by Lake Chicago, and its western 

 or southern boundary seldom passes far beyond the Valparaiso 

 moraine. The area therefore does not coincide with any polit- 

 ical division and is so diverse in its topography and physiography 

 that it has been divided into six districts, each characterized by 

 noteworthy differences in flora and vegetation. 



No less than 134 pages are utilized for a discussion of the 

 botanical features of these six regions. The discussion is primar- 

 ily ecological in nature, but lacks the technical details of an 

 ecological monograph, as a moment's comparison with the works 

 of Cowles, Sherff, or Gates will show. This flora is not a mono- 

 graph on ecology, however, and the non-technicality is a desid- 

 eratum rather than a fault, while the graphic description of the 

 vegetation is unusually clear and readable. This part is illustrat- 

 ed by six maps and by twenty-four full-page plates and seventeen 

 smaller figures in half-tone, well chosen to present not only the 

 leading aspects of the vegetation but attractive landscapes as 

 well. Throughout this part the floristic and physical features of 

 the region are correlated, and much additional information is 

 given as to collecting localities, rare species, extinction of species, 

 effects of urban development and agriculture, and other subjects 

 of interest to the botanist. Considerable attention has been 

 given to the need of wild-flower preservation, which must be 

 urgent in a region of such extensive urban development. 



The second part, including 385 pages, presents the flora of the 



