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I9I5] CURRENT LITERATURE 497

Ferns of South Africa.-Sinmhas prepareda second editionof his Ferns

ofSouthAfrica,bringing together in thisconvenient
formmuchwidelyscattered
information.The preliminary chaptersdeal withthe followingtopics: ferns,
parts of ferns,reproductionand propagation,cultivation,identification and
preservation, the fernsof South Africa,the naturalhomeof ferns. The bulk
of the volumenaturallyis concernedwiththe descriptions of species. Atten-
tion is called to the fact that the numberof speciesof fernsin South Africa
is remarkablysmallcomparedwiththe wholeflora. The presentvolumecon-
tains 220 speciesof fernsand fernallies,an increaseof4I speciesover thefirst
edition,publishedin i892. The full descriptionsand the numerousplates
make the volumeverycompleteforits purpose.-J. M. C.
Westernwild flowers.-MARGARET ARMSTRONG,7in collaborationwith
ProfessorJ.J.THORNBER ofArizona,has prepareda popularfieldbookdescrib-
ingand illustratingthe "commonwildflowers"westof theRockyMountains.
The book is "popular," not merelyin the selectionof plants fordescription,
but also in the absence of technical terminology.The author says that
" almost all technical botanical terms have been translatedinto ordinary
English." The drawingsforthe numerousillustrationshave all been made
fromlife,and, in connectionwiththe "ordinaryEnglish" of the text,should
enablethe "generalpublic" to identifytheconspicuousplantsin whichit may
have a casual interest.-J.M. C.
Plantlife.-This titlehas been selectedby HALL8 fora volumepresenting
the plant kingdom"to the amateurbotanistand the loverof nature." As a
consequence,the styleis not technical,but appeals to generalinterest. The
illustrationsare numerous,and 50 of the 74 plates are colored. Some idea of
the topics presentedcan be obtainedfromthe chapterheads, which are in
effectas follows: asexual plants,developmentof sex in plants and a studyin
evolution,seaweeds, fungiand lichens,archegoniates,phanerogamia,fossil
plants,foodof plants,perpetuationof the race, defensesof plants,ecology.-
J. M. C.
NOTES FOR STUDENTS
Originof monocotyledony.-Inan address deliveredat the twenty-fifth
anniversarycelebrationof the MissouriBotanical Garden,COULTER,9because
of continuedstudies on the origin of monocotyledony, chieflyin grasses,
6
SIM, THOMAS R., The fernsof South Africa. 2d ed. 8vo. pp. ix+384. pis.
i86. CambridgeUniversityPress. I9I5. 25s.
7 ARMSTRONG, MARGARET, Field book of westernwild flowers. i6mo. pp. xx+
596. col. pls. 48. figs.5oo. New York and London: Putnam, I9I5. $2.00.
8 HALL, CHARLES A., Plant life. 8vo. pp. xi+380. pIs. 74. figs. 8o. London:
A. & C. Black. I9I5.
9 COULTER, J. M., The originof monocotyledony. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 2:175-
I83. figs.9- I9I5-