42 
Mycologia 
as the present work offers. For such an undertaking, the author’s 
experience in Cuba is a most valuable asset, as it has brought him 
into first-hand contact with many of the troublesome diseases of 
the tropics. The book is well written and copiously illustrated, 
a very large percentage of the cuts being original. In this re- 
spect it is more fortunate than some other plant pathologies which 
have appeared in recent years with the majority of cuts bor- 
rowed. The practice of borrowing extensively detracts from the 
value of any work, as it gives the reader a feeling that he is 
dealing with a second-hand subject, whereas original illustrations 
appeal to him as accompanying live matter treated by one who is 
acquainted with the subject at first hand. 
The preface states that the “work is intended primarily for 
the planter; but it is hoped that it may be of some service to the 
student.” This will account for the method of treatment adopted 
in the work. The chapters are arranged in three groups, those 
dealing in a general way with the nature and causes of plant 
diseases, those treating of the diseases themselves, and those which 
discuss the prevention and cure of these diseases. In the first 
group of chapters, the physiology and structure of plants are 
briefly outlined and the nature and symptoms of disease discussed. 
This is followed by a comprehensive survey of the classification 
of fungi with especial reference to the disease-producing forms. 
Bacteria, slime moulds, and other causes of plant diseases are also 
taken up in this connection. 
In the second group of chapters, which constitutes the body of 
the work, the various diseases are discussed in detail both as to 
their symptoms and cause, as well as methods for their treatment. 
Here the diseases are grouped according to their host plants, which 
is a great convenience to the planter for ready reference, while 
the student of the fungi themselves will find the taxonomic refer- 
ences in the preceding chapters. In this connection, it is quite 
interesting to note that on the crops grown in both temperate and 
tropical regions serious diseases in the one region may be entirely 
absent from the other, or if present of only secondary im- 
portance. 
The chapters on the prevention and control of disease 
