season and location, by which one can, with a httle looking up 

 of numbers, run down a plant without the use of keys. A 

 pictorial glossary is a further help. 



The nine hundred or more flowers described include most of 

 those to be found in the north eastern U. S. with the exception 

 of grasses and sedges. Trees and shrubs are also omitted. In 

 some of the more difficult groups only a few of the most common 

 or striking plants are described — for example, only 18 members 

 of the Umbelliferae, 18 Asters, 14 Goldenrods. Of course, in a 

 work of this kind it is necessary to limit the number of species 

 described and it is sufficient if all the common species can be 

 found easily and one can be reasonably sure of the genus, at 

 least, of other plants. But it is a little hard to understand why 

 certain common species have not been included; for example 12 

 violets are given, but V. conspersa and V. rostrata are omitted; 

 5 species of Potamogeton are given but the very common hetero- 

 phyllus is not given. 



Common names are printed in small capitals making them 

 more prominent than the scientific ones, as should be the case 

 in a book meant for popular use. The scientific names used are 

 those of Britton and Brown, where the name in Gray's New 

 Manual is different, the latter is given in brackets. 



The book is well printed on good quality paper, bound in 

 semiflexible green cloth. It should have a wide appeal to lovers 

 of the out-of-doors who are not equipped to use the standard 

 manuals. 



G. T. Hastings 



TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB FIELD MEETINGS 



Early spring field meetings of the Torrey Botanical Club, at 

 the New York and Brooklyn botanical gardens were well at- 

 tended and interesting. On Saturday afternoon, March 31, 

 Mr. Percy A. Wilson guided a party of forty members and 

 guests through the greenhouses and some outdoor exhibits, at 

 the New York Botanical Garden after which they heard Prof. 

 John M. Coulter's lecture on "The Present Status of Evolu- 

 tion." On April 7, Dr. Alfred Gundersen was host at the Brook- 

 lyn Botanic Garden to a group of thirty. In the greenhouses, 

 the exhibit on Evolution of Plants proved interesting, with 



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