78 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



b}' selecting the more characteristic forms, and therefore the 

 most easily identified, first, these will act as guides along the 

 way and make the rest easy. The book contains nearly 300 

 pages and is published by Houghton ^Mifflin & Co., Boston at 

 $1.25 net. 



"House Plants ; Their Care and Culture" by Hugh Find- 

 lay is, as its name indicates, a guide to the care of the plants in 

 the house, which begins with several chapters on soils, potting, 

 watering, and the like, and then discusses the needs of the 

 different plants usualh' grown in houses. As regards the direc- 

 tions given, it may be said that they are practical and to the 

 point, though not always as scientificall}' accurate as one would 

 expect from a professor in Syracuse University. For instance 

 we suspect that a good many physiological botanists, would 

 scarcely subscribe to the statement on page 45 that "The leaves 

 are the lungs of the plant and if these are clogged by dust the plant 

 catches cold, sickens and dies." In the section devoted to the care 

 of individual species, some account is first given of the group 

 to which the plant belongs and a list of the more valuable vari- 

 eties for house cultivation are usually given. \\^e note the use 

 of the words Natural Order for what botanists universally call 

 the family, and various scientific names are also mis-spelled, 

 but these faults do not detract from the correctness of the cul- 

 tural directions given. The book contains more than 300 pages 

 and 125 illustrations. It is published by D. Appleton & Co., 

 Xew York and costs $1.50 net. 



\\q have received a circular describing six books on fungi 

 which the author asks us to notice in this column. His circular 

 states, however, that he makes no reduction to anybody, dealers 

 included and^supplies no copies for examination, from which we 

 infer that any exchange of courtesies we may be inclined to 

 make will be quite like the handle of a jug — all on one side. 

 A dealer who invests his money in advertising and postage 

 designed to make an author's books more widely known cer- 



