CURRENT LITERATURE - 
BOOK REVIEWS 
New text books of paleobotany 
The first volume of Scorr’s Studiest appeared in the third edition during 
the autumn of 1920. The present volume treats of the Pteridophytes, 
and includes a new chapter on the recently discovered early Devonian Psilo- 
phytales from the Rhymie chert bed in Scotland. Other additions are an 
account of the Lycopodineous fructification Mazocarpon and further informa- 
tion about the leaves of Calamites, the roots of Sphenophyllum, and the root 
zone in Psaronius. The chapter on the Botryopterideae is completely 
rewritten, in accordance with the recent discoveries by PAUL BERTRAND, 
Kinston, and Gorpon. It is to be hoped that the next volume containing 
the Gymnosperms will soon appear. Scorr’s Studies is unquestionably the 
most thorough treatment of fossil plants for the student of morphology, and 
the great value of the book is increased by the large number of excellent illus- 
trations to which the author has devoted his careful attention in the successive 
itions. 
No other text book of paleobotany has reached three editions, and only 
one was published a second time. This is Poronté’s Lehrbuch? which is now 
being re-edited by Poronré’s successor, W. GoTHAN in Bérlin. It has been 
carried as far as the Coniferales, and when completed will probably include 
the only modern treatment of Angiosperms in the literature of fossil botany. 
It is really an entirely new book, completely rewritten after Poronté’s death 
(1917). The illustrations are well chosen and numerous, and, in accordance 
with Poront&é’s and GoTHan’s training as state geologists of Prussia, attention 
chapters. A fairly complete treatment of the stratigraphic aspects of 
paleobotany would be highly desirable if offered in the yet unpublished portions 
of the book. 
For the present we possess a short survey of stratigraphic paleobotany 
in up-to-date form only in Berry’s last publication,3 whose second part deals 
*Scort, D. H., Studies in fossil botany. 3d ed. Vol. I. 8vo. pp. vit434- 
jigs. 190. London. 1920. 
2 Poronté’s Lehrbuch der Paliobotanik. 2. Unger Auflage von W. 
Gothan. Erste und zweite Lieferung. Berlin. rq19- 
3 Berry, E. W., Poleobotany: Asketch of the origin ne evolution of floras. From 
the Smithsonian Report for 1918. pp. 289-407. pls. 6. Washington. 1920. 
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