1058 The American Naturalist. [November, 
cultivated grasses and some of the forage plants also receive attention ; 
and notes upon cultivation, use of irrigation for meadows, diseases of 
grasses, and other topics make the report of great value to the Nebraska 
farmer. In the preparation of part of the topics Professor Bessey has 
been assisted by his pupils, Herbert J. Webber and Jared G. Smith. 
The second part of the report is a catalogue of the flora of Nebraska, 
prepared by Mr. Webber under Professor Bessey's direction. This 
is in every way an admirable local flora. It embraces all manner of 
plants from the humblest protophyte to the most exalted anthophyte. 
The total number of species listed reaches (by a curious coincidence) 
189o. From Professor Bessey's well-known views certain things 
among the departures from the commonly-accepted form in local 
floras, such as the arrangement of groups in an ascending order, the 
use of ** phyta ” as a uniform termination for the names of the grand 
divisions, and the decapitalization of specific names, were to be ex- 
pected ; but in the present instance we meet with an unlooked-for 
innovation in the use of Luerssen's arrangement of the phanerogams 
instead of one of the common American or English systems. This 
abolishes the division of Apetalz, distributing the orders of this group 
according to their affinities, and brings the Composite at the end of 
the list as representing the highest development of plant life. Many 
minor changes of arrangement will be noted by the student, and 
‚especially the attempt to follow the most advanced views in both 
arrangement and nomenclature, 
A feature of the work to which too much praise cannot be accorded 
is the indication under each species of the particular herbarium in 
which the specimen on which the determination was made can be 
found. This makes it possible to re-examine the data for any part of 
‘the catalogue desired, should the necessity for doing so ever arise. 
Could this practice be made universal the days of slight appreciation 
of local lists would soon be past, and they would become an important 
factor in the study of geographical distribution, etc., instead of being : 
largely ignored as heretofore. 
Further interesting features of this catalogue might be mentioned. 
It will undoubtedly serve as a model for other collectors who are 
ambitious to embody the results of the latest studies in their local lists, 
a desire which should not be discouraged. — J. C. ARTHUR. 
Physikalische Krystallographie,! by Dr. Th. Liebisch, is an 
excellent treatise on the physical properties of crystals as distinguished 
from uncrystallized bodies. An introduction of fifty pages discusses 
the differences between crystallized and uncrystallized substances, and 
" Leipzig, Veit and Comp., 1891, pp. VIIL; 614, 298 fig., 9 tables. 
