88 Scientific Intelligence. 



With regard to synonymy the author is conservative and intro- 

 duces but few new names. The principle of adopting the oldest 

 specific name is emplo3 7 ed, although many old names which are 

 indefinite or uncertain in their application are discarded. The 

 consequence is that some of the new combinations which have 

 recently been proposed by other writers are here reduced to syno- 

 nyms. 



One of the the most interesting features of the present part is 

 the treatment given to the large genus Aecidiuni of Persoon, 

 occupying nearly ninety pages of the text. In many of our spe- 

 cies of this genus the life-history is incompletely known, but 

 wherever the teleutosporic form of a species has been determined 

 or is strongly suspected this fact is fully indicated by cross-refer- 

 ences. It is noted, however, that our conception of species in 

 the Rusts is being modified by infection expei'iments, so that the 

 accepted nomenclature of some of the aecidial forms may be sub- 

 ject to change in the future. Another large genus treated is 

 Agaricus, L., which has over sixty pages devoted to it. The 

 genus is understood in its restricted sense with A. campestris, L. 

 as the type. Most of the species, therefore, which are listed 

 under this generic name, are referred to other genera by cross- 

 references. 



The Index is much more than a compilation. It is interspersed 

 throughout with critical notes which deal more particularly 

 with questions of nomenclature and with the determination of 

 specimens distributed in exsiccati. The majority of these notes 

 are by Professor Farlow himself. The others are by Mr. A. B. 

 Seymour, to whom much of the work of indexing is also accred- 

 ited. The succeeding parts of the Index will be awaited with 

 interest. * a. w.. e. 



11 The Oyster, a Popular Summary of a Scientific Study y 

 by William K. Brooks. Second and revised edition. Pp. 225, 

 with 15 plates. Baltimore, l 905 (Johns Hopkins Press). — This 

 well known popular illustrated work on the anatomy, develop- 

 ment, and cultivation of the oyster, of which the first edition 

 appeared neai'ly fifteen years ago, is reprinted without essential 

 change. The cause of the decline of the oyster industry in 

 Chesapeake Bay and the remedies proposed are discussed in a 

 most interesting and conclusive manner. w. e. c. 



