248 



SCIENCE. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



American Science Series— Botany— for High 

 Schools and Colleges. By Charles E. Bessey, 

 M.Sc. Ph.D., Professor of Botany in the Iowa 

 Agricultural College. Henry Holt & Company", 

 New York, Large i2mo. 1880. 



Circumstances, ever varied in their nature, daily Re- 

 mind us of the progress of science, but the production 

 of a really valuable manual devoted to sou e special line 

 of research not only gives direct evidence of progress 

 already achieved, but hopefully suggests future advance- 

 ment. For these reasons, we welcome a new manual of 

 botany, written by Professor Charles E. Bessey, of the 

 Iowa Agricultural College, which presents many advan- 

 tages over previous publications having the same object 

 in view, and must pr ve one of the most valuable aids to 

 a true knowledge of the vegetable kingdom which the 

 advanced student can possess. 



Although modestly styled by the author "An Intro- 

 duction to the Study of Plants" the work appears to 

 leave little unexplained which is requisite tor a compre- 

 hension of the anatomy and physiology of the vegetable. 

 It is not claimed that the material is new, but the original 

 arrangement of the matter to secure a more logical pre- 

 sentation of the subject, is apparent throughout the 

 work. 



Professor Bessey directs attention to two innovations 

 which he has made, consisting of the " recognition of 

 seven quite well marked kinds of tissue," and that of 

 " raising the Protophyta, Zygosporeae, Oosporeae and Car- 

 posporeas to the dignity of Primary Divisions of the Veg- 

 etable Kingdom, co-ordinate with the Bryophyta, Pteri- 

 dophyta and Phanerogamia," in the hope that they may 

 serve to give a clearer and more accurate notion of the 

 structure of plants. 



To those unacquainted with the German language, 

 and to whom, therefore, the works of the German botan- 

 ists are as sealed books, the present manual will prove 

 particularly valuable, as free use has been made of the 

 works of Sachs, DeBary, Hofmeister, S'rasburger, Na- 

 geli, Schwendener and others, while many of the cuts in 

 Sachs' " Lehrbuch " have been reproduced. 



One of the greatest charms of Pro f essor Bessey's 

 manual consists of a great number of excellent illustra- 

 tions, which have been selected wiih great judgment, 

 presenting over five hundred and fifty forms of vegetable 

 life. 



Professor Bessey divides his manual into two Parts, 

 the First of which is based on Sachs' "Lehrbuch," the 

 general plan of which is closely followed. The first 

 chapter appropriately opens with a description of the 

 "active and vital " principles of all vegetable organisms, 

 " Protoplasm." Following the plant cell, is discussed 

 the cHI wall, the formation of new cells the product of 

 the cell, tissues, intet-cellular spaces, and secretion res- 

 ervoirs, and so on until the plant body is gradually built 

 up. The last three clnp'ers of this portion of the work 

 relate to the chemical constituents of plants, the chemical 

 processes in the plant, and the relations of plants to 

 external agents. 



The student having thus become familiarized with the 

 anatomy and general structure of plants, the author, in 

 Part Two, presents his plan of classification, which, as 

 we have stated, is based on that made use of by Sachs 

 for the lower orders of plants, while that for the higher 

 plants conforms more nearly to the system of class tira- 

 tion recognized in this country and in England. Profes- 

 sor Bessey divides the vegetable kingdom into six 

 divisions, as follows : 



I. I'rotophyta. IV. Carposporeae. 



II. Zygosporeae. V. Bryophyta. 



II 1. Oospon a , VI. Pteridophyta. 



VII. Phanerogamia. 



This is a departure from the classification which has 

 so long been followed in the English works on botany, 

 the familiar groups of Alga? and Fungi are not recog- 

 nized, the terms being retained only when general refer- 

 ence is made to the Chlorophyll-bearing and the Chloro- 

 phyll-free Thallophytes, Professor Bessey stating that, 

 under his arrangement, the term Algae implies a Thallo- 

 phyte which contains Chlorophyll, and that by a Fungus 

 is understood one which is Saprophytic or Parasitic in 

 habit, and which is, in consequence, free from Chloro- 

 phyll. 



In the classification of the Diatomaceae, that proposed 

 by Professor H. L. Smith, one of the best authorities on 

 the subject, has been wisely followed, which divides the 

 order into three tribes, each containing several families. 



As the classification of the Diatomaceae is as yet 

 largely artificial, we presume the one adopted by Pro- 

 fessor Smith is provisional. 



We have probably indicated sufficiently in this outline 

 the leading characteristics of this last, and, in our opin- 

 ion, the best Manual of Botany. Its merits are apparent 

 throughout the work, and it is evident that Professor 

 Bessey has spared no pains to render his work perfect and 

 worthy of the great subject treated. 



We trust it will receive the attention it deserves, and 

 we commend it to every student of botany. 



In connection with the above Manual of Botany by 

 Professor Bessey, we would direct attention to a series 

 of twenty-four botanical microscopical slides offered by 

 Messrs. James W. Queen & Co., of Philadelphia. 



Although Professor Bessey's work is abundantly 

 illus' rated, there can be no question respecting the value 

 of having at hand the natural specimens, so that, with 

 the descriptions still fresh in the memory, we may go 

 direct to nature, and there not only verify the author's 

 statements, but make independent observations of 

 physiological facts. 



While we strongly advise all engaged in such studies 

 to make their own sections and preparations, few 

 possess the requisite knowledge and manipulative skill 

 to produce perfect specimens. We, therefore, with 

 pleasure, suggest to students, and especially to instruct- 

 ors, that they obtain the tweuty-four vegetable prepara- 

 tions offered by Messrs. Queen & Co. They are the 

 most perfect microscopical slides we have seen, and 

 the specimens are all either single or double stained, 

 thus demonstrating the presence of protoplasm and 

 structure, essential to a comprehension of anatomical 

 and physiological botany. 



They will also serve as excellent models for the stu- 

 dent to imitate, in learning to prepare his own slides. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[3.] I have not yet succeeded in obtaining the pure white 

 crystals of Iodide of Potassium by Liebig's method. 

 Where is the difficulty, and do the following equations re- 

 present the reactions ? 



(1.) 2 P + ILO + 2 1 + 2 BaCoa+2 Ba H 2 0= 

 Ba, (POO a + Ba I, + 2 Co, + 2ll,0. 



(2.) Ba Ij + K, So4 = 2KI + Ba So.,. 



X. 

 [4.] Mounting Fresh Blood. — In mounting slides of 

 fresh blood, I occasionally find the corpucles subsequently 

 vanish. Will some reader of SCIENCE state the cause, and 

 give a remedy. J. R. B. 



