48 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
— The friends of American forestry have reason to rejoice at 
the unusual number of books on our native trees that are being is- 
sued. Within the past year no less than six different books on 
this subject have been published or announced to be published. 
The trees stand in such close relation to the daily lives of most of 
us that we can scarcely have too many books about them. In 
winter, when frost and snow have banished nearly all the other 
attractions of the countr\^side, the trees not only remain excellent 
objects for study, but assume new phases of attractiveness that 
were unperceived when their branches were clothed with verdure. 
New and striking characteristics appear in even the most familiar 
species, and we run some risk of passing old favorites without 
recognition. Certain species, there are, that may be easily distin- 
guished at any time of the year, but in winter the majority require 
for their identification, a greater familiarity with bark, and branch 
and bud and leaf-scar, than manv, save the woodsman, possess. 
It was, therefore, a happy thought that inspired Annie Oakes 
Huntington to write "Studies of Trees in \\^inter." The book 
contains just the information necessary to enable us to recognize 
all the native trees of Northeastern America in their leafless con- 
dition, but it does not stop with a description of the winter aspects 
of the trees. All of the interesting or characteristic points about 
each species are noted and placed before the reader in attractive 
form. The author's comprehension of her subject is well shown 
in the following quotation from the section on the hop hornbeam. 
"There is but one native hop hornbeam in New England, and it is 
an extremely interesting little tree. It grows under other trees 
in the forest and is easily overlooked, usually being mistaken for 
a young elm. Of all trees the hop hornbeam is most retiring in 
its habits and takes much the same place among trees that the 
hare does among animals, or the violet does among flowers, livings 
a secluded life in wild places where the woods partly conceal its 
identity." There are many excellent illustrations from photo- 
graphs of the trees in winter, and twelve colored plates of twigs 
and buds give the color characteristics of numerous species. The 
book is a i2mo. of 200 pages and is published by Knight & INIillet,. 
of Boston. 
