1918] CURRENT LITERATURE 195 
Botany of crop plants.—RoBBINs! has written a most successful botanical 
textbook with a direct bearing on agriculture, and it will be welcomed by many 
teachers in botany. The work is the outcome of a course in Freshman botany 
which the author has been giving for several years, and is intended for both 
agricultural and non-agricultural schools. It is divided into two parts. The 
first part consists of 8 chapters and includes general or fundamental botany. 
It is devoted entirely to angiosperms and would be somewhat better for a college 
textbook if more extensive. The second part gives excellent discussions of 
most of our important agricultural crops, including general descriptions of the 
plants, their flowers and fruits, with discussions of their history, uses, and dis- 
tribution. Some of these discussions include maps and keys. Each chapter 
closes with an excellent bibliography. The value of the book would be greatly 
increased by laboratory outlines, by chapters on lower plants in the first part, 
and by chapters on plant breeding, gaat: pa pathology, and other related 
subjects in the second part.—MEL. T. Coo 
NOTES FOR SLUDENTS 
Addisonia.—The third number of the second volume of this journal con- 
st colored plates and popular descriptions of Harrisia gracilis, Epidendrum 
ongalum, Aesculus parviflora, Micrampelis lobata, Bomarea edulis, Aster 
ag A paniccrseoy ee Harrisia Martini, Oncidium pubes, and 
Raphiolepis ovata.—J. M 
Subalpine plants of the Rocky Mountains.—Continuing his series of 
studies of the flora of the Rocky Mountains already noted,’ RypBERc* has 
made an analysis of the vegetation of the subalpine zone. Lists of species 
found in the different formations are given, and three classes are distinguished 
according to whether the plants are restricted to the northern or to the southern 
Rockies, or are common to both.—Gero. D. FULLER. 
Revegetation of Taal volcano.—Swept bare of plants by an eruption in 
rg11, the slopes of Taal volcano have afforded an excellent opportunity for the 
study of revegetation within the tropics. Records by Gates’ show that the 
grasses are prominent among the pioneers, followed by shrubs and small 
‘trees. In contrast with the conditions at Krakatau, ferns are found to be 
* Ropsrns, W. W., Botany of crop plants. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston’s Sons. 
1917. 
5 Bor. Gaz. 62:83-84. 1916; 63:423-424. 1917. 
RypBerc, P. A., Phytogeographical notes on the Rocky Mountain region. 
VII. Formation of the subalpine zone. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 44:431-454- 1917. 
7 Gates, F. C., The pioneer vegetation of Taal volcano. Phil. Jour. Sci. 9:391- 
434. 1914. 
, The revegetation of Taal volcano, P.I. Plant World 20:195-207. 1917. 
