164 Scientific Intelligence. 



1911. — These render available existing data and add materially to 

 our knowledge oi the interesting flora of the South Temperate 

 Zone. The collections made in the Tararua Mountains are from 

 a district not previously visited by a naturalist, and furnish new 

 data regarding distribution and ecological relations. The illus- 

 trations are unusually good and pertinent. h. e. g. 



7. Fungous Diseases of Plants, with chapters on Physiol- 

 ogy, Culture Methods and Technique / by Benjamin M. Duggar. 

 Pp. xii + 508, with 240 text-figures. New York and Boston, 

 1911 (Ginn & Company). — The majority of American works on 

 parasitic fungi have dealt primarily or exclusively with the fungi 

 themselves, rather than with their host plants. Professor Dug- 

 gar's book, which forms a volume of the Country Life Education 

 Series, is a notable exception to this rule and lays special emphasis 

 on the host plants, describing clearly the changes which they 

 undergo through the presence of the parasites and calling atten- 

 tion to methods by which further infection can be prevented or 

 controlled, After a series of chapters devoted to culture methods 

 and technique, the diseases are taken up in representative types 

 arranged according to the systematic position of the parasites, the 

 Myxomycetes and Bacteria being considered first and then the 

 Phycomycetes, Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes. In most cases 

 the parasites selected for description are those which attack culti- 

 vated plants or plants which are otherwise of economic interest. 

 The illustrations, many of which are reproduced from photo- 

 graphs, form an excellent feature of the book. a. w. e. 



8. Practical Botany ; by Joseph Y. Bergen and Otis W. 

 Caldwell. Pp. vii + 545 with 388 text-figures. New York and 

 Boston, 1911 (Ginn & Company). — Professor Bergen's element- 

 ary text-books of botany have long been recognized by teachers 

 as valuable and practicable adjuncts to their work. The present 

 volume, which maintains the usual high standard, is written in 

 response to the demand for text-books which shall emphasize the 

 connection between science and daily life. It gives the essential 

 facts regarding the structure and functions of plants, but also 

 shows how they play a part in agriculture, in the spread of disease, 

 and in yielding products of economic significance. Chapters on 

 ecology and on the geographical distribution of plants are like- 

 wise included. The illustrations are largely new and are remark- 

 ably clear and satisfactory. a. w. e. 



9. A Practical Course in Botany, with especicd reference to 

 its bearings on Agriculture, Economics, and Sanitation; by E. 

 F. Andrews. Pp. ix + 374, with 15 plates and 511 text-figures. 

 New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago, 1911 (American Book 

 Company). — The present text-book is written particularly for 

 schools which are not provided with a full laboratory outfit. 

 Microscopic structure, therefore, receives but a limited amount 

 of attention, and most of the work suggested can be carried on 

 by the direct examination of material in the class room or in the 

 field. With the exception of the concluding chapter, which gives 



