88 Scientific Intelligence. 



North American students of the slime-moulds and the important 

 results achieved during the last twenty-five years. a. w. e. 



10. Soil Conditions and Plant Growth; by E. J. Russell. 

 Pp. xii, 405, with 32 text-figures. Fourth edition. London, 

 1921 (Longmans, Green & Co.). — Originally published as one of 

 a series of monographs on biochemistry, this book in its present 

 form appears as the first of the "Rothamsted monographs on 

 agricultural science." Presenting as it does a comprehensive 

 survey of the physical, biological and chemical conditions of the 

 soil as related to plant growth, a survey which three thorough 

 revisions have kept well abreast with advances in scientific knowl- 

 edge in this complex field, its value to students both in this and 

 in related fields has been recognized from the outset. The fourth 

 edition, more than half as large again as the first, retains the 

 general character of the earlier editions, dealing broadly with the 

 whole subject. g. e. nichols. 



11. A Handbook of the British Lichens; by Annie Lorrain 

 Smith. Pp. 158, with 90 text figures. London, 1921 (British 

 Museum). — This Handbook is based on the author's recent Mono- 

 graph of the British Lichens, a much more extensive work in two 

 volumes published by the British Museum. After a brief intro- 

 duction in which the morphology of lichens is described, together 

 with notes on their physiology, ecology, economic uses and phylo- 

 geny, the author gives full descriptions of the families and 

 genera of British Lichens, and makes it possible to determine the 

 species by means of keys. Characteristic species of the more 

 important genera are illustrated. Since many of the British 

 species occur also in North America the Handbook ought to prove 

 serviceable to students of the lichens on both sides of the Atlantic. 



a. w. E. 



IV. Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence, 



1. The Outline of Science: A plain story simply told; edited 

 by J. Arthur Thompson. Four volumes, with 40 colored plates 

 and 800 other illustrations. New York and London, 1922 (G-. P. 

 Putnam's Sons). — With the high degree of specialization that 

 has taken place in recent years among the workers in the various 

 fields of science there are now but very few who have been able to 

 keep in touch with the marvelous discoveries of recent years and 

 with the modern points of view in all these branches. Conse- 

 quently there are but few whose knowledge of science is so 

 far-reaching as to give them a broad view of the interrelations of 

 the entire field ; and only those could hope to succeed in present- 

 ing to the general reader a comprehensive story of science. The 

 editor of these volumes stands pre-eminent in this class. 



The first volume, which is the only one of the series which has 



