ey ae 
1912] CURRENT LITERATURE 253 
In his point of view JoNGMANS is generally fairly conservative. His 
species are for the most part clearly delineated, as shown by the synonomy, 
though in some cases plants have been included under a single name, which in 
the judgment of the reviewer, should be maintained separately. An example 
is Calamites inornatus Dawson, here included under Asterocalamites scrobicu- 
latus, but really a Pseudobornia. On the other hand, there are very many 
instances of wise and careful reconstruction and correlation. It is assumed 
that the parts yet to be printed will, like the one in hand, be accompanied by 
bibliographies and complete indexes, which will aid in making the book the 
most useful, I may say indispensable, work that has yet been published for 
the systematic identification of ordinary carboniferous plants——Davip WHITE. 
Poisonous plants 
PROFESSOR PAMMEL has published a Manual of poisonous planist whose 
bulk is a surprise. The reviewer did not imagine that there were so many 
poisonous plants in the whole world, and the author has restricted himself to 
“chiefly eastern North America.’’ An explanation is found in the broad 
interpretation of the subject, for the book includes ‘all plants that are injuri- 
ous, although many of these are not known to produce poisons, some even 
being most useful economic plants and yet injurious to some people.” 
After the surprise of bulk has subsided, the appalling amount of biblio- 
graphical work becomes impressive. At the end of the volume is a bibliography 
of poisonous plants, a bibliography that must have been traversed more or 
less completely, and it contains 1237 titles (50 pp.). In addition to this, 
there is “‘a catalogue of the a ae plants of the world” (59 pp.), and also 
a very complete index (59 p 
Part I (150 pp.) Shae ‘the presentation of the subject from the stand- 
point of the poisons, as the titles of the 15 chapters will indicate: Poisons and 
statistics on poisons; Bacterial poisons; Dermatitis; Forage poisoning, 
ergotism, and aspergillosis; ; Poisoning from fungi; Poisoning from other 
plants—equisetosis, locoism, and lupinosis; Delphinosis, ‘higaeoes (lathyr- 
ism), aconitism, veratrism, Umbelliferae, Conium, Cicuta; Fish and arrow 
poisons, hydrocyanic poisoning, toxalbumins; Poisoning from opium; Solana- 
ceae and plants that contain saponins; Poisoning from flowers and from honey, 
mechanical injuries; Classification of poisons, symptoms, and antidotes; 
Production of poison in plants; Algae in water supplies; Catalogue of the 
more important poisonous plants of the United States and Canada; Chemistry 
of alkaloids, glucosides, etc. 
Part II (652 pp.) is a descriptive manual, with keys, numerous illustrations, 
and all the data necessary for determination. The sequence used is that of 
oe PamMEL, L. H., A manual of poisonous plants; chiefly of eastern North America, 
with brief notes on economic and medicinal plants, and numerous illustrations. 8vo. 
PP. Xiv-+977. pls. 17. figs. 458. Cedar Rapids (Ia.): The Torch Press. 1911. 
