Abstract
THIS is nothing more than a series of blank charts, intended for students to fill in with the details of plant descriptions. The charts are prefaced by a few pages of letterpress, wherein are contained some of the author's views on plant morphology, together with general hints and a summary of the terminology to be used. We cannot say that the author's attempt to simplify the technical terms ordinarily made use of in descriptive work is altogether a success. For instance, the words “shingled” and “straddling” for imbricate and equitant, will hardly recommend themselves to teachers on this side of the Atlantic; nor are plants either epiphytic or parasitic on rocks. As to the blank charts which constitute the feature of the book, it can only be said that, as such things go, they are entirely praiseworthy. But are charts of this kind really necessary? A child just beginning the subject may profitably make use of the very simple schedules devised by the late Prof. Henslow; but by the time he has advanced so far as to be able to use these complicated and detailed ones, drawn up by Mr. Ward, we think he will do much better without being kept in leading-strings. The advantage gained by writing descriptions will be vastly enhanced if he be now permitted to think a little for himself.
Plant Organization: a Review of the Structure and Morphology of Plants by the written method.
ByR. Halsted Ward. (Boston, U.S.A.: Ginn and Co., 1890.)
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O., F. Our Book Shelf. Nature 42, 518 (1890). https://doi.org/10.1038/042518a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/042518a0