— 10 — 
“MOSSES WITH HAND-LENS AND MICROSCOPE.” 
A REVIEW. 
George N. Best. 
A noticeable feature of this valuable work is its wealth of illustrations. 
It contains no fewer than 88 full-page plates and 265 figures. The larger 
part of these plates have been taken from leones M its cor iim 
or the Bryologia Europea, and are in every respect equal to the originals, 
which is equivalent to saying that none better have as yet been produced. 
While not so highly artistic, the figures, scattered through the 416 pages of 
text where most needed, answer quite well the purpose for which they were 
intended, and considerably enhance the value of the work. The mechanical 
execution of this book is all that could be desired — heavy paper, wide margin, 
clear type, and neat and substantial binding. 
In the preparation of Mosses with Hand-Lens and Microscope, covering 
a [period of about eight years, 1 the author has exercised a commendable 
eclecticism in gleaning from various sources, more especially from the 
current literature of the subject, such material as seemed best suited to his 
purpose, and by this means has been enabled to keep his own work well up 
with the latest advances in bryology. In matters pertaining to nomen- 
clature extremes have been avoided, and a conservative but by no means 
antiquated course has been pursued. The claim that this work is “ non-tech- 
nical” would scarcely be allowed without qualification. No doubt the author 
intended it to be as free from technicalities as it could possibly be made 
without compromising it in other respects. But every science, and trade as 
well, must of necessity have a language of its own, a language which the 
novice must acquire if he expects to master the science or the trade. 
While it is freely conceded that Dr. Grout’s book contains a great deal 
that is of inestimable value to the professional bryologist, its strongest appeal 
is to the student and the amateur. In fact, it is with feelings akin to envy,_ 
possibly mixed with regret, that we recall our own hard struggles and bitter 
disappointments as we tried to force our way, some fifteen years ago, through 
the labyrinthian maze of genera and species of the Musci with the aid of 
Lesquereux and James’ Manual and Barnes’ Keys. In comparison our state 
of mind would have been Utopian if we had had at our command a work like 
this, containing chapters on such practical subjects as “The Collection and 
Preservation of Mosses,” “ How to Mount Mo.sses,” “Methods of Manipula- 
tion,” “ Life History and Structure of the Moss Plant,” “ Illustrated Glossary 
of Bryological Terms,” — so easy and so plain as to make mistakes almost 
impossible, and a manual each step of which is safeguarded by a description 
that describes, an illustration that illustrates, or a friendly caution that 
prevents our making the same blunder as perchance the author himself once 
did, much to his discomfort. 
On the whole, in Dr. Grout’s book we find but little to censure, a great 
deal to commend. In the manual part a larger number of species might have 
1. Part I. appeared June, 1903. and Part V.. completing the work, July, 1910. 
