380 Scientific Intelligence. 



biological research and shows the practical application of biometry 

 to many diverse problems. The nature of statistical knowledge 

 and the mathematical analysis of inbreeding are fully and lucidly 

 explained, with a final chapter discussing the relation of the 

 science of genetics to the practical art of breeding. Although 

 most of the subject matter has appeared elsewhere, its incorpora- 

 tion in book form will be of great service both to the geneticist 

 and the intellectual practical breeder. w. r. c. 



6. Scientific and Ajiplied Pharmacognosy : Intended for the 

 use of students in pharmacy, as a hand book for pharmacists, and 

 as a reference book for food and drug analysts and pharmacolo- 

 gists ; by Henry Krabmee. Pp. viii, 857, with 313 text figures. 

 Philadelphia, 1915 (published by the author). — As the author 

 remarks in his preface, the science of pharmacognosy is one of the 

 most important branches of applied botan} r . This is not only 

 because the vast majority of drugs are of vegetable origin, but 

 also because the methods employed in studying them are largely 

 those of the plant histologist. Problems connected with the 

 conditions under which medicinal plants reach their best develop- 

 ment fall also within the domain of the science, and the pharma- 

 cologist must frequently make use of micro-chemical reactions 

 in studying the constitution of his drugs. In the present volume 

 the varied needs of the student of pharmacognosy are supplied in 

 a noteworthy degree. In a short introduction the scope of the 

 science and the nature of its special problem are outlined, and 

 this is followed by a presentation of the principles, definitions 

 and rules employed in pharmacognosy. The greater part of the 

 work, nearly 800 pages, is taken up by the detailed description of 

 the numerous vegetable drugs, arranged according to the Engler- 

 Prantl system. Under each of the more important drugs full 

 information is given about the plant from which the drug is 

 derived, about the appearance of the drug as an article of com- 

 merce, and about its histological structure, both intact and in a 

 powdered condition. The active principles of the drug are then 

 discussed from a chemical standpoint, and attention is called to 

 the nature of its adulterants and to the methods by which they 

 may be detected. At the close of the volume the very few drugs 

 of animal origin are considered, and a helpful artificial key for 

 the study of powdered drugs is given. The illustrations are pro- 

 fuse and of a high degree of excellence. Many of them are orig- 

 inal and most of the others are taken from standard European 

 works. In the majority of cases the figures bring out histological 

 details, but some of them show morphological features or micro- 

 scopic crystals. The work will surely prove indispensable to phar- 

 macists, and should be of much service to botanists in other fields. 



a. w. E. 



1. Methods in Plant Histology. Third Revised Edition ; by 

 Charles J. Chamberlain. Pp. xi, 314 ; with 107 text-figures. 

 Chicago, 1915 (The University of Chicago Press. Price, $2.25, 

 net). — Professor Chamberlain's Methods of Plant Histology has 

 established a place for itself in botanical laboratories. In the 

 third edition, as in the previous editions, the work is divided into 



