BOTANY AND AGRICULTURE.
The second volume of the 'Cyclopedia of American Horticulture' edited by Prof. L. H. Bailey, has made its appearance from the press of the Macmillan Company and shows the same general excellence attributed to the first volume already noticed in this magazine. Subjects under the initials E. M. are treated in the last volume. Among the most notable topics of broader interest are Ferns, Horticulture, Greenhouses and the zonal regions in the various States discussed. A biographical sketch of Asa Gray, by Professor Bailey, carries with it a touch of interest due to the acquaintance of the editor with that eminent botanist. By the most recent census it has been shown that nearly 2,500 species of native American plants have been brought into cultivation. Dr. Wilhelm Miller gives a piquant description of the manner in which the Cyclopedia was written and edited in an article in the 'Asa Gray Bulletin' for August, 1900, of which the following paragraph is fairly characteristic: "The rest is hard work, and every man to his own method. Professor Bailey uses any or all methods, or no method; usually the latter. He is too busy getting done to think about the best way. Allamanda he wrote in sixty minutes by the clock. It is an article of about 640 words, with eight good species, and accounts for ten trade names. The plants are not merely described; they are distinguished. Eleven pictures were cited. Not less than twenty books were consulted. Four dried specimens were named. This was the first genus he tackled."
A much-needed introduction to vegetable physiology (J. & A. Churchill), by Dr. Reynolds Green, of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, has just appeared. The author discusses the general anatomy of the plant and takes up the general principles of physiology in a very attractive manner, although in certain sections the conciseness of the elementary text is not adhered to. It is a readable book, and the author is particularly apt in his sections dealing with respiration and fermentation. It is distracting, however, to find Professor Green in disagreement with himself concerning the dialysation of the enzymes, a group of substances which have been the subject of important investigations by Professor Green for a number of years. This book will undoubtedly find its way into every botanist's library in a few years.
The annual report of the State Geologist of New Jersey, for 1899, upon Forests is a carefully indexed volume of 328 pages (State Printers), with 31 plates and some text figures. The report is in four principal divisions. C. C. Vermeule gives a general description of the forested area and the conditions of the timber in the several natural divisions of the State, which is well set forth by the aid of well-colored maps. Prof. Arthur Hollick treats the relation between forestry and geology in New Jersey and divides the State into three zones; that of deciduous trees, that of coniferous trees and an intermediate formation. Attention is also paid to the evolution of the species of trees as exhibited by fossil specimens. Prof. J. B. Smith discusses the rôle of insects in the forest. Dr. John Gifford reports on the forestal conditions and silvicultural prospects of the coastal plain of New Jersey. These, with other matter
