41 
The first chapter is an historical account and a botanical classifi- 
cation of plums; the second a discussion of the present status of 
plum-growing in America; while the third and fourth are devoted 
to varieties of plums. The first and last two of these chapters 
contain the synonymy and bibliography of the species and vari- 
eties of plums. In the footnotes running through the book are 
given biographical sketches of plum growers.—JOHN W. HARsH- 
BERGER. 
In a recent text book of Egyptian agriculture edited by G. P. 
Foaden and F. Fletcher attention is called to the fact that the 
important staple crops are remarkably free from fungous dis- 
eases.. Berseem and maize, although grown in enormous quan- 
tities, are practically free from disease; wheat only bears rust- 
pustules, commonly after the flowering period; and although 
cotton is inhabited by four common fungi, it is attacked by them 
at such times as to be but little affected by them. This is at 
least partly due to the climatic conditions: high temperatures 
unfavorable to fungi, and the unvarying character of the climate. 
An exceedingly attractive series of leaflets is issued from the 
Arnold Arboretum under the title of. Bulletin of Popular Infor- 
mation. Number 11 of the series contains a discussion of the 
кашаң elm, or rather, of the English elms, for there are two that 
. . grow naturally and spontaneously in Great Britain, 
Ulmus glabra and Ulmus nitens." Besides these two, there are 
two other species in northern and central Europe, U. laevis and 
U. foliacea, all in cultivation at the arboretum. 
“When we speak [broadly] of Ulmus campestris we do not 
refer to any of these trees . . . , but to the so-called elm of the 
roadsides, avenues, and hedgerows of southern England. The 
origin of this tree is obscure. Growing spontaneously it is 
known only in England; it never ripens seed and it increases by 
suckers which are produced in profusion. Some authors have 
thought that it might be a hybrid; by others it has been sug- 
gested that it was brought from Italy to Britain by the Romans. 
. . . The oldest name of th's tree is Ulmus surculosa.” 
