Botany. 247 



has given here a brief description of the common mineral species 

 with particular reference to their occurrence in the Argentine 

 Republic. The volume is arranged so as to be suitable for pur- 

 poses of instruction. 



III. Botany. 



1. Monograph of the North American Umbelliferce ; by J. M. 

 Coulter and J. N. Rose. (Contributions from the U. S. National 

 Herbarium, vii, 1-256, 8vo, Washington, December 31, 1900.) — 

 It is more than twelve years since Messrs. Coulter and Rose pub- 

 lished their useful Revision of the North American Umbelliferae. 

 During this interval much new material has been accumulated 

 toward the further clarification of this difficult group, and the 

 present welcome publication has expanded to some 250 pages. 

 Prefatory lists and tables show clearly the bibliography, statis- 

 tics and generic synonymy of the family, careful attention having 

 been devoted to the question of generic types. The generic key 

 is artificial, but is based, as must be the case in this group, pri- 

 marily upon fruit characters and inflorescence, much weight being 

 ascribed to the number and arrangement of the oil-tubes. In the 

 descriptive portion of the work the characterizations are mostly 

 rather brief, greater space than usual having been given to the 

 detailed citation of exsiccatce, a feature which will render the 

 treatment — at least to the professional botanist — much clearer 

 and more valuable than the introduction of fuller descriptions. 

 There are a few habital plates and many clear and excellent text- 

 figures, mostly of the fruit. 



Probably the most significant single change from the earlier 

 treatment is the separation (as Lomatium) of the American 

 plants hitherto referred to the genus Peucedanum, which is now 

 regarded by the authors as strictly gerontogeous. It is to be 

 regretted that the authors have felt it desirable to recast their 

 nomenclature according to the Rochester Code, notwithstanding 

 its serious defects, which have been often and clearly pointed 

 out, and which render its general acceptance impossible. The 

 geographic ranges assigned might, in some few instances, have 

 been extended; thus Leptocaulis echinatus Nutt. occurs in 

 Southern Missouri (Eggert). A few ranges are vaguely given 

 which might with a little trouble have been made more definite ; 

 thus Erigenia bulbosa Nutt. is said to grow in the " United 

 States and Canada east of the Great Plains," but it is lacking in 

 New England and the maritime provinces. A more usual case 

 seems to be the repetition of a compiled traditional range not 

 fully borne out by the specimens examined. In this the authors 

 appear to have been too conservative; for, considering the vast 

 amount of material which they have studied — including all the 

 larger public and many private herbaria — who can say better 

 than they where a given American umbellifer occurs ? It is, 

 therefore, disappointing to find them still reluctant to relegate to 



