206 



Sierra Club Bulletin. 



BOOK REVIEWS. 



Edited by William Frederic Bade. 



" Mountain ^ decade or more ago there appeared a popular 

 Wild Flowers S^^^^ ^^^^ flowers of the Eastern States 



OF America" ^^^^^ Dana which enjoyed great pop- 



ularity. Mary Elizabeth Parsons provided a 

 similar work for Californians under the title "Wild Flowers of 

 CaHfornia." Now Julia W. Henshaw, following the same plan, 

 presents us with a book* on the wild flowers of the American 

 mountains. It is a book of more than ordinary interest to mem- 

 bers of the Sierra Club. Not only the botanically inclined 

 mountain-climber, but also the occasional sojourner among the 

 mountains, will find here impulse and means to fill his hours 

 with enjoyment. Like her predecessors in this type of "Who's 

 Who" in the flower world, the author adopts the color scheme 

 of arrangement for her material. Only two chapters, "Flowering 

 Shrubs" and "Miscellaneous," are an exception to this. A notable 

 and highly commendable feature of the book consists in one 

 hundred and one beautiful full-page half-tone reproductions of 

 photographs taken by the author. The descriptions are not 

 technical in the botanical sense, and yet convey accurate informa- 

 tion. Both the botanical species name and an English name are 

 given for each plant. With the aids provided, it ought not to be 

 difficult to identify most of the wild flowers that catch the way- 

 farer's eye among our northern mountains. Were the reviewer 

 inclined to be critical in discussing so excellent a piece of work, 

 he would have to confess to a wish for a less inclusive title. A 

 cursory glance at the species described makes it apparent that 

 it is primarily adapted for use among the mountains of Canada 

 and the northern United States. Fortunately this does not 

 operate greatly to the disadvantage of Californians, partly be- 

 cause mountain wild flowers exhibit a strong community resem- 

 blance in widely separated regions, and partly because the species 

 not found in the California mountains are in most cases replaced 

 by closely related species. We feel sure, therefore, that this book 

 will make many friends as a guide to the beautiful blossoms of 



* Mountain Wild Flowers of America. By Julia W. Henshaw. Ginn & 

 Compary, Publishers, Boston, Mass. Pp. 384. loi illustrations. $2.00 net. 



