1896.] Botany. 1043 
This factor in botanical science has thus been a growth, and it rep- 
resents to-day much more than so many pages of printed matter. It 
has grown and developed as the science of botany has grown and 
developed in this country. When we look over the earlier volumes 
with surprise at the little notes which fill the pages, we must not forget 
that American botany had not then generally risen above such contri- 
butions. It is true that we had a few masters in the science, with Dr. 
Gray still in his prime, but these masters wrote little for general read- 
ing, and their technically systematic contributions were mostly published 
in the proceedings of learned societies. The one thing which stands 
out to-day in sharp contrast with the botany of two decades ago is the 
very great increase in the number of masters in the science who are 
making liberal contributions from many different departments. The 
many-paged Gazette of to-day, with its rich variety of matter, differs no 
more frum the four-page Bulletin of 1876 than does the botany of the 
two periods.—CHARLES E. Bessey. 
The North American Species of Physalis and Related 
Genera.—In a recent number of the Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical 
Club (Vol. IV, No. 5) Mr. P. A. Rydberg publishes an important con- 
tribution to our knowledge of our species of Physalis and related 
genera. Every one who has attempted to accurately identify any of 
the native species of Physalis knows well how difficult and discouraging 
the task has been. Commenting on this Mr. Rydberg says : “ The reason 
is not that the descriptions are so badly drawn, but that only about one 
half of the actual number of species have, as a rule, been recognized.” 
After a critical discussion covering fifteen pages the author char- 
acterizes the six genera which he includes in his monograph. These 
are Margaranthus, with four southwestern species; Physalis, with 
thirty-nine species; Quincula, with one Rocky Mountain species; 
Leucophysalis, with one species of the northern United States and 
Canada; Chamesaracha, with four species of the southwestern United 
States ; Oryctes, with one species from Nevada. 
Throughout the paper the nomenclature and synonymy receive full 
attention, the citations being unusually complete. The descriptions are 
concise, and apparently drawn with great care. And last, but by no 
means least, there is a full index of species and synonyms given at the 
end of the SS a it is an unusually good piece of 
work.—CHARLES E. B 
Professor Prentiss.—The recent death (August 14th) of Professor 
Albert Nelson Prentiss of Cornell University calls for more than a mere 
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