168 



framed in the simplest language ; the glossary itself contains but 

 sixty-one terms, and among these are included such common words 

 as annual, head, herb, and stamens. About four hundred flowers 

 and one hundred fruits are thus simply described in detail suffi- 

 cient for identification. Provisions are made for those least 

 learned in botanical terms, and it is possible to trace the flowering 

 dogwood successfully, even if the four large white bracts are 

 considered petals — as they often are by the uninitiated. Some- 

 times it seems as if this simplified method were carried to the 

 extreme ; the flowering dogwood may again be mentioned here, 

 for the keys do not make it possible to find the name if one uses 

 the true flowers, which are surrounded by these white bracts. 

 Objections might also be made to the use of the word sepals for 

 all the perianth parts of some of the Liliaceae. The illustrations 

 add but little to the value of the book, and some (such as the 

 line drawings of the yellow clover, pine sap, and hobblebush) 

 may prove a hindrance. 



Yet, these are after all minor points. The book is by far the 

 easiest, simplest, and quickest guide to wild flowers. It is so 

 simple that a child of twelve can readily learn to use the keys 

 and name the common flowers of his neighborhood. The book 

 must also prove a boon to the many people who are interested 

 in plants and their names, but who do not have the time and the 

 patience to work over the somewhat technical keys of our man- 

 uals of botany, and to whom simple and compound pistils, pla- 

 centae, and hypogynous or inferior insertions are insurmountable 

 difficulties. High school pupils should be introduced to this 

 popular key, for it may prove the long-desired connection be- 

 tween the work of the school room and a lasting interest in botany. 



Jean Broadhurst. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE CLUB 



May 26, 1909 



This meeting was held at the museum of the New York 



Botanical Garden and was called to order at 3 : 30 P. M. by 



President Rusby. Thirty-four persons were present. After the 



reading and approval of the minutes of the preceding meetings 



