Reviews and Book Notices. 



91 



opposed to those of Lemanea, which are described as ' very 

 branched,' whilst the figures (Fig-. 3, A and C) indicate the 

 reverse. The illustrations are careful and accurate drawings 

 to scale, and are in no sense diagrammatic (one of which we 

 are kindly permitted to reproduce), though the cell-contents 

 of some of the half-tone figures are not shown, e.g., the 

 * granulations ' of Botrydium grcinulaturn (Fig. 122, B and C). 

 The author enters with fulness into the intricate — and thankless 

 — questions of synonymy, and British botanists will note many- 

 changes in nomenclature. The biological introduction, on the 

 other hand, is not nearly so satisfactory as the systematic por- 

 tion of the book. It is too brief ; and as a result the author's 

 discussion of several important problems suffers considerably. * 

 In particular, Mr. West does not do himself justice when stating 

 his views on phylogeny. In criticising the classification of the 

 Green Algge put forward by Messrs. Blackman and Tansley, 

 the author's statements simply amount to his pitting his own 

 authority against that of Messrs. Blackman and Tansley. 

 A lengthened introduction would enable the author to state his 

 reasons in full ; as it is. his discussion consists of assertions, 

 sometimes stated 'most emphatically.' Still, the major portion 

 of the book is of such a high standard of excellence that every 

 student of Algae must possess himself of the work ; and we 

 hope that a second edition will early be demanded, when the 

 one serious weakness may be remedied. For the sake of the 

 not very advanced students who will use the book, full explana- 

 tions of the frontispiece (illustrations of the plankton of Lough 

 Neagh and of Loch Ruar, Sutherland) and of the phylogentic 

 table on page 30 are highly desirable. The book is well indexed 

 as regards plants and authorities, but not as regards subjects, 

 such as hybrids, movements of Oscillatoriacese, saprophytes, 

 etc., etc. 



The writer has been enabled to look over a recent paper-'^ on 

 the Blue-green Algae, wherein the movements of the Oscilla- 

 toriaceae receive an explanation not mentioned in Mr. West's 

 book: — 'The movements of Oscillaria, Cylindrospermum, and 

 the other forms of the Cyanophyceae which exhibit motion, are 

 caused by delicate protoplasmic cilia distributed along the sides 

 of the trichome.' C. E. M. 



* A Comparative Study of tlie Cytology and Movements of the Cyano- 

 phycea;. By O. P. Phillips. (Contributions from the Botanical Laboratory 

 of the University of Pennsylvania, Vol. II., No. 3, pp. 237-335, 1904, 

 illustrated. ) 



1905 March i. 



