Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
January,  1900.  J 
Reviews. 
45 
addition  of  chapters  on  methods  of  floral  dissection  and  analysis,  the  descrip- 
tion of  flowers  by  means  of  diagrams  and  formulse,  the  morphology  and  classi- 
fication of  cryptogamous  plants,  classification  and  nomenclature,  and  on  the 
collection  and  preservation  of  specimens.  In  the  chapters  devoted  to  repro- 
duction, special  pains  have  been  taken  to  make  clear  the  homologies  and  affini- 
ties between  the  flowering  and  flowerless  plants." 
Especially  well  have  the  chapters  on  Botanical  Classification  and  Analysis 
and  Botanical  Nomenclature  been  written.  Some  may  argue  against  the  de- 
tailed treatment  of  the  chapter  on  Cryptogams,  but,  as  stated  by  the  author, 
this  has  been  supplied  to  meet  the  wants  of  other  than  pharmacy  students. 
Part  I  is  characterized  by  originality  of  treatment  of  the  subject,  clearness, 
accuracy,  and  conciseness  of  expression,  and  superb  selection  of  illustrative  ma- 
terial, much  of  which  is  familiar  to  the  student  of  pharmacy.  In  fact,  this 
portion  of  the  work  possesses  an  individuality  that  is  decidedly  pleasing. 
Part  II  treats  of  the  Microscope,  the  Plant  Cell,  Cell  Contents,  Cell  Wall,  and 
Tissue  Systems.  The  opportunity  for  original  treatment  is  apparently  not  so 
great  as  in  Part  I,  since  the  subjects  are  treated  in  an  order  and  manner  very 
similar  to  that  of  several  well-known  German  text-books.  It  is  unfortunate 
that  it  was  found  necessary  to  resort  to  such  wholesale  borrowing  of  for- 
eign cuts  for  use  in  an  otherwise  distinctly  American  text-book.  Such  cuts 
suffer  more  or  less  by  reproduction,  as  a  glance  through  tbe  second  part  will 
demonstrate.  At  least  in  the  copy  at  hand  many  of  the  finer  details  have  been 
entirely  obliterated.  A  redeeming  feature,  however,  is  the  faithful  observance 
of  the  principle  "  credit  to  whom  credit  is  due,"  a  principle  which  is  not  relig- 
iously observed  by  all  writers.  The  text  is  clearly  written  and  admirably 
serves  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended.  Taken  as  a  whole,  this  book  is 
a  great  improvement  over  the  first  edition,  and  constitutes  a  very  valuable 
and  timely  contribution  to  botanical  literature.  It  ^ertainl)*  deserves  and  will 
doubtless  receive  the  same  hearty  reception  as  its  predecessor.  . 
j.  o.  schxotterbeck. 
University  of  Michigan. 
Microscopy  and  Micro-Technique.  By  Albert  Schneider,  M.D.,  Ph.D., 
Professor  of  Botan}-,  Pharmacography  and  Materia  Medica,  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity School  of  Pharmacy.  Ninety-five  illustrations.  Large  Octavo  ;  190 
pages.    Chicago:  Chicago  Medical  Book  Company.  1899. 
A  practical  guide  to  the  use  of  the  microscope  may  be  regarded  as  an  essen- 
tial to  every  student  of  natural  science,  theoretical  or  applied,  whether  engaged 
in  a  course  of  home-study,  and  without  instructor,  or  under  the  best  possible 
conditions.  Quite  a  number  of  such  books  have  appeared  during  the  past  de- 
cade, and  this, the  last  of  them,  certainly  deserves  to  rank  among  the  very  best. 
Perhaps  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  Professor  Schneider's  work  is  the 
manner  in  which  it  supplements  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  laws  of  optics  by  a 
series  of  simple  and  non-technical  explanations.  Most  of  such  works  have 
been  faulty  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  directions.  While  some  have  depended 
so  completely  upon  mathematical  equations  as  to  be  fitted  only  for  such  students 
as  have  enjoyed  a  thorough  and  liberal  preliminary  education,  others  have 
been  so  superficial  as  to  fail  utterly  to  appeal  to  the  latter  class.  None  can  com- 
plain of  Dr.  Schneider's  mathematics,  as  to  either  quality  or  quantity,  yet  any 
student  will  find  it  easy  to  omit  these  explanations,  yet  without  failing  to  get  a 
