said by the author to be "the most complete enumera- 

 tion of plants of any region of as great area 

 Plants of in the world. In fact, no such systematic 

 New Jersey, study of a flora has hitherto been attempt- 

 ed." It is gratifying to know that this great- 

 est effort has been perfected in America, where botany is 

 supposed to be less developed than in European coun- 

 tries. The projectors of the work have been bold and 

 comprehensive in their plans from the first, and a pre- 

 liminary catalogue was issued under the same auspices 

 a few years ago which was itself more voluminous prob- 

 ably than any American catalogue in existence at that 

 time. Dr. Britton and his collaborators have labored 

 with unusual fidelity for many years. 



The catalogue comprises an enumeration of all plants 

 — fungi, algas, lichens, liverworts, mosses, etc., as well 

 as the flowering plants. The total species and varieties 

 reported in the state, an area of 8,224 square miles, are 

 5,641, distributed as follows: flowering plants, 1,919; 

 pteridophytes (ferns, club-mosses, scouring-rushes, etc.), 

 76; bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and charas), 461; 

 thallophytes (lichens, algae and fungi), 3,021; proto- 

 phytes, 164. 



An excellent feature of the catalogue is the enumera- 

 tions of "forms," or minor variations of plants. This is 

 the first important step in this country toward the com- 

 pilation of material for the study of plant variation. 

 These forms are commonly considered unworthy of 

 notice, or at least of record by most botanists, but they 

 are, in some aspects, the most important objects in sys- 

 tematic botany. These forms include all conspicuous 

 variations in colors of flowers and habits of plant which 

 are not sufficiently marked or constant to be supposed to 

 merit varietal names. This catalogue is also the expon- 

 ent in this country of the extreme revolutionism in plant 

 nomenclature. Between this extreme and the extreme 

 conversatism, which is also promulgated in this country 

 — both of which are equally unfortunate, "it seems to us 

 — the botanical laity cannot find standing ground. 



The Western New York Horticultural Society. 

 Proceedings of ihe TJiirty-foiirtli Animal Meeting, Jield at 

 Rocliester , famiary 22 and 2j, i8go. folni Hall , Secretary. 

 Pp. 188. The Western New York Horticultural Society 

 is in many respects the beet horticultural organization 

 in America. Its membership is made up of eminently 

 progressive men, who have learned the art of tilling the 



soil in one of the most beautiful and fertile spots upon 

 the earth. Its meetings are always important. The 

 present volume is even better than any of its predeces- 

 sors The editing is carefully done, and the typography 

 and make-up are unsurpassed. 



The contents are varied and substantial. The follow- 

 ing are the most conspicuous papers : The Clematis Dis- 

 ease, by Professor Comstock ; Late Ex- 

 periences with Insects Injurious to the Western N. V. 

 Orchard and Garden, by Dr. Lintner ; Horticulture. 

 Report upon Chemistry, by Professor 

 Caldwell ; Experiment Stations, by Dr. Collier ; The 

 Winter End of Horticulture, by Professor Bailey ; The 

 Newer Strawberries, by C. E. Hunn ; Embellishment of 

 Public Pleasure Grounds, by William McMillan ; Pomo- 

 logical-Historical Review, by Lewis F. Allen ; Evapor- 

 ated Fruits, by Michael Doyle ; Planting School Grounds, 

 by J. J. Thomas. The reports of county committees and 

 discussions fill out an unusually valuable little volume. 



Bulletin No. 10, Minnesota Experiment Station. 

 S. B. Green. This bulletin deals with a variety of topics. 

 Mr, Green conducted, during two years, an experiment 

 to determine the relative values of plowed and unplowed 

 land for onions. An old onion patch 

 was selected for the experiment, half Onions on 



being plowed in the spring and half Plowed and 



harrowed. In 1888, a very wet season, Unplowed Land, 

 the unplowed area gave more onions 

 and fewer green necks. In 1889, a very dry season, the 

 test was reversed with the areas, the portion which was 

 plowed in 1888 being harrowed. Again the unplowed 

 portion gave best results. "The results of the experi- 

 ments for these two very different years show that the 

 land not plowed, but which was only harrowed, was in 

 the best condition for a crop of onions. This is true of 

 this individual case, and would probably be true of any 

 similar soil, or of any that is lighter. There has long 

 been a feeling among onion growers that fall plowed 

 land is better for the onion crop than spring plowed 

 land, and I have frequently known of onion land that 

 was simply raked over in the spring following the har- 

 vesting of the crop, and which, without further prepar- 

 ation, produced good crops. This experiment confirms 

 us in a belief in the efficacy of a rather compact subsoil 

 for onions. 



" Another point of interest and value lies in the fact 

 that both years the weeds were much the most numerous 

 on the half which was plowed. It may be questioned if 

 I would advise the planting the land to onions continu- 



