No. 535] 



NOTES AND LITERATURE 



441 



With these three hooks, at the same time reliable in their state- 

 ments, and attractively written, English and American students 

 can have no excuse for ignorance of the present status of paleo- 

 botany. 



The attitude of botanists toward the study of fossil plants has 

 undergone a marked change of late years. It is now no longer 

 true that the students of fossil plants know little or nothing 

 about living ones, and the great advancements of late years are 

 largely due to the fact that recent students of fossil plants are 

 thoroughly trained botanists. Moreover, as in other branches 

 of botany, greatly improved methods have been developed, and 

 the microscopic study of sections of petrified plant-tissues now 

 make it possible in many cases to examine accurately the tissues 

 of the fossil plants, and to compare them with the living forms 

 supposed to be related to them. The perfection of some of these 

 sections of fossil tissues is quite astonishing. 



Of course it is the firmer tissues, like the epidermis and woody 

 structures of the vascular plants which are most commonly pre- 

 served, and it is not strange that the paleobotanist should lay 

 great stress upon the importance of the vascular skeleton which 

 is so perfectly preserved. Students of living plants sometimes 

 think that the great morphological importance attributed to the 

 vascular system has been rather exaggerated, and there is no 

 question that some of the far-reaching conclusions drawn from 

 what to the layman seems very inadequate evidence, are not 

 justified when they are taken in connection with the evidence 

 furnished by a study of living forms. One can not accept with- 

 out reserve many of the conclusions drawn from the study of 

 fragmentary material, often very badly preserved. Neverthe- 

 less, no one can dispute that great advances have been made in 

 our knowledge of the history of the development of the plant 

 kingdom resulting from the discoveries made by students of 

 fossil plants. 



The problems which confront the student of fossil plants, and 

 the difficulties which he encounters, are well set forth in the 

 introductory chapter of Dr. Scott's book. The extremely frag- 

 mentary character of the record, and especially the great differ- 

 ence shown by different periods in the preservation of plant 

 remains, are clearly set forth. The Carboniferous, as the stu- 

 dents of fossil plants are aware, affords the richest fossil flora 

 known, and it is especially with the Carboniferous flora that 

 Dr. Scott concerns himself. 



As it is among the Paleozoic Pteridophytes that we are to 



