146 



The first three chapters deal respectively with the great groups 

 of plants (three being recognized, i. e., Thallophytes, Archegoni- 

 ates and Spermophytes), the outer morphology of Angiospermae, 

 and the inner morphology of higher plants. The selection of the 

 material presented in this portion of the work has been made with 

 care, and we believe that it establishes a standard decidedly in 

 advance of the work that is generally being pursued in the col- 

 leges of pharmacy. Certain parts of the discussion will appeal 

 to the botanist as formal and artificial. Such considerations, 

 however, are a necessity to the pharmacist, who is often dealing 

 with the mechanical features and mathematical measurements of 

 plant structures in his analyses. The author has been obliged, 

 perhaps of necessity, to content himself with the presentation of 

 these facts, which are piled up in great detail. It appears to us 

 that certain portions might have been shortened in order to give 

 place to a fuller discussion of the relationship of the great groups 

 of plants, the significance of morphological characters, and the 

 forces operativ^e in shaping them. 



Chapter IV., dealing with the classification of angiosperms 

 yielding drugs, and chapter V., on the cultivation of medicinal 

 plants, are entirely new and of very general interest. In the 

 classification of angiosperms the author gives a concise description 

 of the plants yielding drugs and other useful products, as well as 

 the non-official drugs derived from them. This portion of the 

 work will be of service to the botanist and pharmacist alike. 

 The orders and families of the Angiospermae are briefly char- 

 acterized in the sequence of Engler and Prantl and the various 

 medicinal plants are discussed under their respective families. 

 In many cases no attempt apparently has been made to dis- 

 tinguish between the various orders and families, and probably 

 this is the only practical course where the main consideration is 

 the character of the plant rather than the diagnostic features of 

 the groups, which are, in many cases, at present poorly under- 

 stood. Much interesting information is presented in the dis- 

 cussion of the cultivation of medicinal plants, attention being 

 called to the growing scarcity of many of the officinal plants 

 and to the opportunity for the profitable cultivation as well as to 



