182 



to be sure, the omission of the Orchidaceae, of certain species 

 like Castalia odorata and Castanea dentata, and of all species of 

 Rubus except R, canadensis. But, on the whole, speaking from the 

 standpoint of the eastern botanist, the judgment of the authors 

 in the selection of the species to be included is to be highly com- 

 mended. Some idea as to the usefulness of the book to the 

 eastern student may be deduced from the fact that out of a list 

 of. about 150 common spring flowering plants which the reviewer 

 has been accustomed to give his elementary field classes, there 

 are scarcely a dozen which are not to be found in this flora. 

 A few of the species, however, such as Podophyllum peltatum 

 and Claytonia virginica, which are cited as "common," are 

 certainly not common in southern New England, and of course 

 many species are described which are not found there at all. In 

 this connection the question might be raised whether it might 

 not be worth while, even in a work of this sort, to outline briefly 

 the ranges of species which are more or less restricted in their 

 distribution, as, for example, Asimina triloba and Dodecatheon 

 Meadia. 



It may perhaps be objected by some that in the analytical 

 key too little emphasis has been laid on family relationships. 

 These, however, are clearly brought out in the descriptive part 

 of the text, and to the mind of the reviewer their omission from 

 the key is more than offset by the increased simplicity and lucid- 

 ness thereby made possible. For, after all, not only to the be- 

 ginner but to the more advanced student as well, a key primarily 

 is but a means to a definite end, namely, the identification of the 

 specimen in hand, and upon the ease with which such a determi- 

 nation can be made depends very largely its value. 



George E. Nichols. 



Yale University 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CLUB 



APRIL 13, I915 



The meeting of April 13, 191 5, was held at the American- 

 Museum of Natural History at 8:15 P.M., President Harper 

 presiding. Sixteen persons were present. 



