﻿Botany. 
  481 
  

  

  III. 
  Botany. 
  

  

  1. 
  A 
  Students' 
  Text-Booh 
  of 
  Botany 
  ; 
  by 
  Sydney 
  H. 
  Vines, 
  

   M.A., 
  F.R.S., 
  Professor 
  of 
  Botany 
  in 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Oxford. 
  

   (London: 
  Swan, 
  Sonnenschein 
  & 
  Co. 
  ; 
  New 
  York: 
  Macmillan 
  & 
  

   Co. 
  1895, 
  pp. 
  821.) 
  — 
  The 
  first 
  volume 
  of 
  this 
  work 
  has 
  already 
  

   been 
  noticed 
  at 
  some 
  length 
  in 
  this 
  Journal. 
  The 
  second 
  volume 
  

   is 
  now 
  at 
  hand. 
  It 
  resumes 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  Classification 
  at 
  

   Phanerogarnia, 
  and 
  devotes 
  to 
  this 
  above 
  two 
  hundred 
  pages. 
  

   The 
  work 
  closes 
  with 
  a 
  short 
  treatise 
  on 
  the 
  physiology 
  of 
  plants, 
  

   and 
  with 
  two 
  indexes 
  to 
  the 
  whole. 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  be 
  but 
  scant 
  praise 
  to 
  speak 
  of 
  Professor 
  Vines's 
  text- 
  

   book 
  as 
  a 
  well-written, 
  careful 
  handbook 
  : 
  it 
  is 
  much 
  more 
  than 
  

   this 
  : 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  well 
  proportioned 
  throughout 
  and 
  constructed 
  with 
  

   constant 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  pressing 
  needs 
  of 
  modern 
  students. 
  It 
  

   is 
  therefore 
  a 
  distinct 
  contribution 
  to 
  our 
  aids 
  in 
  teaching 
  botany. 
  

  

  The 
  arrangement 
  and 
  treatment 
  of 
  Phanerogams 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  

   more 
  convenient 
  for 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  students 
  than 
  any 
  with 
  which 
  the 
  

   writer 
  is 
  acquainted. 
  It 
  is 
  suggestive 
  of 
  LeMaout 
  and 
  Decaisne's 
  

   French 
  treatise, 
  inverted 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  Composite 
  come 
  last 
  and 
  

   are, 
  by 
  implication, 
  made 
  highest 
  in 
  rank. 
  

  

  The 
  physiological 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  deserves 
  the 
  warmest 
  

   commendation 
  for 
  its 
  lucidity 
  and 
  comprehensiveness. 
  Here 
  and 
  

   there 
  a 
  few 
  more 
  details 
  would 
  be 
  acceptable 
  to 
  the 
  average 
  stu- 
  

   dent, 
  as 
  for 
  instance, 
  when 
  the 
  matter 
  of 
  water-culture 
  is 
  treated, 
  

   the 
  percentages 
  of 
  the 
  prescribed 
  substances 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  

   given. 
  There 
  are 
  very 
  few 
  errors 
  to 
  be 
  detected 
  : 
  the 
  principal 
  

   one 
  being 
  a 
  misplacement 
  of 
  roots 
  for 
  shoots 
  in 
  the 
  account 
  of 
  

   Knight's 
  wheel 
  experiment. 
  

  

  To 
  show 
  how 
  succinctly 
  and 
  clearly 
  difficult 
  and 
  doubtful 
  sub- 
  

   jects 
  are 
  presented, 
  a 
  short 
  extract 
  of 
  the 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  relations 
  

   of 
  plants 
  to 
  atmospheric 
  nitrogen 
  is 
  herewith 
  given 
  : 
  

  

  "Although 
  it 
  is 
  generally 
  true 
  that 
  plants 
  cannot 
  assimilate 
  

   uncombined 
  nitrogen, 
  nevertheless 
  certain 
  plants 
  (Papilio?ieo3, 
  

   such 
  as 
  peas, 
  beans, 
  etc.), 
  will 
  grow 
  and 
  flourish 
  in 
  a 
  soil 
  from 
  

   which 
  all 
  traces 
  of 
  nitrogen-compounds 
  have 
  been 
  carefully 
  re- 
  

   moved. 
  The 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  means 
  by 
  which 
  this 
  result 
  is 
  attained 
  

   is 
  not 
  yet 
  completely 
  determined, 
  but 
  the 
  principal 
  facts 
  are 
  

   briefly 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  In 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  these 
  papiliona- 
  

   ceous 
  plants 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  to 
  bear 
  peculiar 
  gall-like 
  outgrowths 
  

   termed 
  tubercles, 
  which 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  numerous 
  and 
  larger 
  the 
  

   smaller 
  the 
  proportion 
  of 
  combined 
  nitrogen 
  contained 
  in 
  the 
  soil. 
  

   The 
  tubercles 
  are 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  attack 
  of 
  a 
  fungus 
  which 
  pene- 
  

   trates 
  into 
  the 
  root 
  through 
  the 
  root-hairs. 
  The 
  green 
  plant 
  and 
  

   the 
  fungus 
  appear 
  to 
  exist 
  in 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  symbiosis, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  

   of 
  the 
  mycorhiza 
  already 
  mentioned, 
  with 
  the 
  result 
  that 
  the 
  green 
  

   plant 
  is 
  adequately 
  supplied 
  with 
  combined 
  nitrogen 
  although 
  

   growing 
  in 
  a 
  soil 
  from 
  which 
  such 
  compounds 
  are 
  originally 
  

   absent. 
  In 
  explanation 
  of 
  these 
  facts 
  there 
  can, 
  first, 
  be 
  no 
  doubt 
  

  

  