64 
THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
The pupil is supposed tO' be supplied with proper material, and 
then a series of intelligent questions guides him to- what to^ see and 
how to see it. In this way nothing is taken for granted and when 
the course is finished it is impossible for the student not to have a 
good understanding of structure in both the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms. The book is divided intoi twO' nearly equal parts, the 
biology of the plant being given equal importance with the biology 
of the animal. The text properly begins with the lowest forms 
and progresses tO' the highest. Reference to any part of the work 
is made easy by a series of sub-titles. The book contains upward 
of 250 pages, is boimd in green cloth and is published by Willard 
N. Clute& Co., at $1.25. 
In the preface to ''Blossom Hosts and Insect Guests," the editor, 
Eleanor E. Davie, claims for William Hamilton Gibson the honor 
of being the first American to investigate the methods by which 
flowers are pollenated by insects. At any rate, Gibson did a great 
deal of work of this kind and being both artist and writer, gave his 
observations tO' the world in a number oi charming articles in 
which text and illustration are delightfully joined. In the little 
book now before us, all that Gibson ever contributed tO' the subject, 
either in the way of information or illustration, may be found with 
just sufficient additions from the editor to form the whole into a 
logical exposition of cross-pollenation as effected by insects. The 
book is primarily intended as a supplementary reader for school 
use, but it is equally good for other people who wish a guide to 
still further studies of the devices by which the flowers secure the 
objects of their existence. The author rightly says in concluding 
''There are similar mysteries tO' those we have penetrated con- 
cealed within the hearts of many of our most common wild flowers 
and it is one of the most inspiring fascinations of Nature-study, 
that while rewarding her devotees with a full measure of her con- 
fidence, she still allures them on with an inexhaustible reserve." A 
supplement to the book contains a list of more than 250 of our na- 
tive wild flowers with the names of the principal insects that visit 
each species and the means that are employed to secure cross- 
pollenation. The book is a 12 mo. of 215 pages, published by 
Newson & Co., New York. The price is 80 cents. 
