February 20, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



157 



for stud} 7 by the younger generation of com- 

 ing geologists, who have yet to begin their 

 acquaintance with the structure of that vast 

 region. 



The geological map is a veiy welcome contri- 

 bution to our records of the physical history of 

 British North America. It measures the great 

 progress made in western explorations since Sir 

 William Logan and Professor James Hall pre- 

 pared the well-known map of Canada and the 

 north-eastern United States in 1866, and pre- 

 sents an authorized graphic digest of the many 

 sketch-maps and reports that have been pub- 

 lished since that time. Much of the work is, 

 of course, broadly generalized, and is doubt- 

 less open to serious changes ; but the great 

 features of the country are well represented, 

 and in the west show a very clear continuation 

 northward of those found within our territory, 

 with the addition of certain peculiarities prob- 

 ably dependent on a more extensive glaciation 

 and a greater recent depression in the north- 

 ern area. The vast breadth of the horizontal 

 mesozoic and tertiary strata of the plains, 

 between the undetermined confusion of the Ar- 

 chaean on the east, and the paleozoic moun- 

 tain ranges on the west, gives a character to 

 this region that finds no close parallel in other 

 parts of the world . 



The ' general map of part of the north-west 

 territories,' prepared at the Dominion lands- 

 office at Ottawa, may be recalled while men- 

 tioning the geological sheets. It represents 

 the region northward from our boundar} 7 , be- 

 tween Hudson Bay and the front range of the 

 Rocky Mountains, on the same scale of forty 

 miles to an inch, and, in the latest edition we 

 have seen, is corrected to March, 1883. Its 

 topographic detail, especially as regards the 

 ragged outlines of the numerous lakes drained 

 by the Nelson River, is decidedly greater than 

 that of the later geological map. Both are, we 

 presume, in great part only approximations to 

 the exact truth ; but, unless the former is imagi- 

 nary in its details, the uninitiated can hardly 

 understand why it was not used as the base- 

 map for the geological coloring. Perhaps 

 there is need of better co-ordination of gov- 

 ernment work in Canada as well as with us. 



GOOD ALE'S VEGETABLE HISTOLOGY. 



Up to the time of the translation of Sachs's 

 text-book of botany into English, something 



Gray's botanical text-book, sixth edition. Vol. ii., Physio- 

 logical botany; i., Outlines of the histology of phaenogamous 

 plants. By George Lincoln Goodale, A.M., M.D., professor 

 of botany in Harvard university. New York and Chicago, Ivi- 

 son, Blakeman, Taylor, & Co., 1885. 



over ten }^ears ago, comparatively little interest 

 was felt in vegetable histology and pbysiolog}' 

 in this country ; and no modern English trea- 

 tise on the subject, of any importance, existed. 

 The direction given to the work of students b} r 

 Sachs's book was soon manifested by a demand 

 for less comprehensive text-books, adapted to 

 the use of more elementaiy classes ; and 

 Thome, Prantl, Bessey, and Kellerman have 

 successively appeared as the result of this 

 demand. 



While the space given to physiological sub- 

 jects in the earlier editions of G-ray was doubt- 

 less adequate when these were prepared, the 

 revision of the book required that these subjects 

 should be treated far more comprehensively 

 than was possible within the limits of the 

 original work : hence the appearance of a 

 separate volume allotted to them. 



For convenience the author has divided this 

 volume into two parts, devoted respectively to 

 histology and physiology. The first of these 

 has recently come from the press, and sustains 

 the high character of the work of which it 

 forms a part. 



An important feature of this volume is the 

 concise introduction, in which the histological 

 appliances and methods most frequently used 

 are brought together for discussion, the writ- 

 er's long experience as a laboratory teacher 

 making this condensed account of much prac- 

 tical value to the student. Following this are 

 chapters on the cell and its parts ; modified 

 cells, and the tissues the}^ compose ; the struc- 

 ture and development of the root, stem, and 

 leaf of phaenogams ; and the structure and 

 development of the flower, fruit, and seed. 



These subjects are treated in much the same 

 manner as in several of the later text-books, 

 though an unusual degree of facility in group- 

 ing the topics in a logical manner is shown ; 

 and no opportunity is lost of indicating the 

 practical aspects of the subject under consid- 

 eration. 



While this part maintains the conservatism 

 with regard to insufficiently substantiated theo- 

 ries that characterizes the earlier volume of 

 the text-book, it is well abreast of the times 

 in a branch of botany which is admittedly in 

 a far from settled condition. A marked im- 

 provement on the usual classification of tissues 

 is observable in the adoption of a smaller 

 number of types, the limits of which are capa- 

 ble of more precise definition, while the treat- 

 ment of their derivatives is probably the best 

 possible on a morphological basis. A physio- 

 logical classification of tissues, based largely 

 on the admirable work of Haberlandt, forms 



