Botany. 249 



his " Elements of Botany." Preserving all the valuable features 

 which have made the " Elements " one of the most popular and 

 useful text-books of the last decade, Mr. Bergen has added con- 

 siderably to the laboratory exercises upon plant anatomy and 

 physiology, increased the number of illustrations, replaced certain 

 figures by much better ones and incorporated a fuller treatment 

 of the cryptogams by Mr. A. B. Seymour. The work, which is 

 the outcome of many years of practical experience in teaching 

 botany, makes a pleasing impression throughout and at every 

 point bears evidence of care and good judgment. Appended to 

 the text-book is a partial flora, arranged in the sequence of 

 Engler and Prantl's " Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien," and includ- 

 ing some seven hundred flowering plants selected from those 

 most available in spring time in our northeastern and middle 

 states. It is designed, of course, to familiarize the pupil with the 

 common plants of his region and bridge the difficulty which must 

 be encountered by a beginner in the immediate use of more com- 

 plete and technical manuals. Whether such a simplified flora 

 proves more helpful or misleading must depend largely upon the 

 experience and good sense of the teacher, — qualities which even 

 this well-nigh ideal text-book cannot wholly offset. b. l. r. 



3. Flora of Vermont, a List of Fern and Seed Plants growing 

 without Cultivation; prepared by E. Brainerd, L. R. Jones, and 

 W. W. Eggleston. (Reprinted from the Twentieth Vermont Agri- 

 cultural Report; 8vo, 313 pp. Burlington, Vt.) — By its excellent 

 arrangement, clear typography, and copious annotation, the recent- 

 ly issued catalogue of Vermont plants makes a favorable impres- 

 sion. It is evidently the outcome of much active exploration by the 

 members of the Vermont Botanical Club, the results having been 

 carefully verified and arranged by the editors. Each entry in the 

 main catalogue rests upon plants personally examined by the com- 

 pilers except in a few cases in which other authorities, usually well- 

 known specialists, are cited. No attempt is made to swell the 

 bulk of the flora by repeating second hand reports or unverified 

 records. These, however, are appended in a sort of supplementary 

 limbo, where without lessening the trustworthiness of the main 

 catalogue, they will doubtless continue to stimulate renewed 

 search. The arrangement of families is in accordance with the 

 generally approved sequence of Engler and Prantl. The nomen- 

 clature is conservative and synonymy sufficient and well-selected. 

 With one or two exceptions the editors have considerately avoided 

 making new combinations, which they rightly regard out of place 

 in local floras of composite authorship. b. l. r. 



4. Catalogue of the African Plants collected by Dr. Friedrich 

 Welwitsch in 1853-61. Dicotyledons, Part IV, Lentibulariaceae 



to Ceratophylleae ; by William Philip Hiern. Pp. 785-1035. 

 London, 1900. — This catalogue of plants collected by Welwitsch 

 in one of the most interesting parts of Africa forms one of the 

 publications printed by order of the trustees of the British 

 Museum, and is an especially important contribution to our 



