1896.] Vegetable Pkpriotogy. 405 



Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History (April-July, 

 1895) and describes some new genera and species. Three plates accom- 

 pany the paper, giving illustrations of every species.— In El Barbareno 

 (Santa Barbara, California), Mrs. Ida Blochman writes pleasantly and 

 instructively about the California wild flowers. Such papers will do 

 much to help acquaint busy people with the plants about them. It 

 would be well if botanists elsewhere were to imitate Mrs. Blochman. — 

 The recent death of Julien Vesque July 25, 1895) brings to us a series 

 of necrological papers by Deherain, Bonnier, Duclaux, Schribaux and 

 Bertrand, accompanied by a photogravure of the lamented investigator. 

 Julien Vesque was born in Luxembourg, April 8, 1848, educated in 

 the Grand Ducal Atheneum of Luxembourg, studied in Berlin (under 

 Braun and Kny) and afterwards in Paris with Brongniart, Duchartre 

 and Decaisne. He was early made a member of the Institut Agronom- 

 ique, in which he was an active worker at the time of his death. The 

 collected titles of his botanical papers number sixty-seven, covering 

 twenty-two years (1873-1895).— Lewis's Leaf-Charts promise to be 

 very useful. They consist of very accurately drawn life-size drawings 

 of characteristic leaves of North American trees. Their moderate price 

 (50 cents per chart, 22 x 28 inches) should warrant their being placed 

 in many of the public schools. — Century III of C. L. Shear's New 

 York Fungi is now in course of distribution. It will prove to be 

 of more than usual interest containing as it does several new or recently 

 described species. This distribution of fungi has met with unusual 

 success, every copy of Century I having long since been taken, no doubt 

 due to the excellence of the specimens. It should be mentioned that 

 the author has removed to Lincoln, Nebr. where he is engaged in botan- 

 ical studies. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 1 



Change in Structure of Plants due to Feeble Light.— The 

 evidence that new species of plants are developed directly and rapidly 

 out of old ones by changes in the environment is becoming more and 

 more conclusive each year. Plants put into markedly different sur- 

 roundings either perish or become rapidly modified to meet the changed 

 demands made by the new conditions. One of the most recent and 



1 Tins department is edited by Ervrin F. Smith, Department of Agriculture, 

 Washington, D. C 



