THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



79 



cates. is designed as a means of identifying the wildtlowers. As 

 in practically all books of this kind, the showy wildflowers are 

 grouped in various ways — according to color, the arrangement 

 and shape of the leaves, etc. — and these smaller groups are 

 then easy to handle by means of brief Keys. Only the more 

 conspicuous flowering plants are included in the book, but those 

 that are listed are probably all that the ordinary botanizer 

 would discoAxr until he graduated into a more pretentious 

 "'Manual.'' The descriptive matter included the time of bloom- 

 ing, the common and scientilic names, and various notes of 

 popular interest. The derivation of the scientific names are 

 given and the pronunciation indicated. Every alternate page is 

 devoted to pen and ink drawings of the flowers — some 600 in 

 all — by the author Avhich will greatly assist in identifying the 

 plants. The book is bound in flexible leather and is published 

 by the T. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. Price $2.00. 



With the publication of "Rocky ^Mountain AA'ildflowers" 

 by Doctors Frederic E. and Edith S. Clements, botanists are 

 introduced to a new type of manual that seems likely to become 

 popular as its merits become known. To begin with, the 

 authors have not striven to give a double scientiflc name to 

 every plant in the region covered : instead they very sensibly 

 have described Avhat are coming to be called "botanical species", 

 that is, species that everyone recognizes as distinct, and have 

 made the descriptions broad enough to include the numerous 

 elementarv species and other segreg'ates so dear to the heart of 

 the species-maker. This method of treatment is the result of 

 the authors' inclination toward ecological rather than taxo- 

 nomic subjects, but it is one that the flower lover will welcome. 

 The book seems designed to indicate clearly the plants of the 

 region instead of to involve the botanizer in a maze of technical 

 verbiage. The best thing about the book, however, and one 

 that cannot be praised too highly, is the method of keying out 

 the species. In other books we are accustomed to the kevs to the 



