(1) Algae (2) The Anthocyanin Pigments of Plants (3) A Text-book of Botany for Colleges

Abstract

(1) A SPECIAL interest attaches to Prof. G. S. West's volume on Algæ, as it is the first of a series of botanical handbooks which will be issued by the Cambridge University Press under the editorship of Prof. A. C. Seward and Mr. A. G. Tansley: The series has been designed to meet the need of books by specialists on different groups of the vegetable kingdom, and the present volume will be followed by others on Lichens, Fungi, and Gnetales, by Miss Lorrain Smith, Dr. Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, and the late Prof. W. H. H. Pearson respectively. Except for a faulty timxiiing of the pages (which, perhaps, is confined to review copies), the “getup” of the hook is excellent. An elegant cover, a clear text with numerous well-displayed figures, and a good index give promise of a series which, in the matter of production, should be admirable. The series opens well with the present volume, which is a biological account of the Aigme, both fresh-water and marine, included in the Myxophyceæ (or Cyanophyceæ), Peridinieæ, Bacillarieæ (Diatoms), and Chlorophyceæ (green Algæ). The greater part of the work deals with the green Aigme, a group to the investigation of which, especially the fresh-water forms, the author has devoted many years of thorough and painstaking research, and on the taxonomy of which he is one of the first authorities. The general structure, cytology, life-history, and biology of the various groups, of their subdivisions and more important genera, are described in onsiderable detail, and their classification and phylogeny discussed. Matters of controversy, such as the presence of a nucleus in the Myxophyceæ, or the mechanism of the movement of the Oscillatorieæ, are treated at some length with an impartial presentation of various opinions. As regards the nuclear question, the author decides in favour of its being an “incipient nucleus.” There is also a valuable and expert discussion on the phylogeny and classification of the Chiorophyceæ, and the system adopted, which differs in detail from previous systems, is based on a critical review of the large amount of recent work and the wide experience of the author himself. The concluding chapter on the occurrence and distribution of fresh-water Algæ forms an introduction to their ecological study.

(1) Algae.

Vol. i., Myxophyceae, Peridinieae, Bacillarieae, Chlorophyceae, together with a Brief Summary of the Occurrence and Distribution of Fresh-water Algae. By Prof. G. S. West. (Cambridge Botanical Handbooks.) Pp. viii + 475. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1916.) Price 25s. net.

(2) The Anthocyanin Pigments of Plants.

By Muriel Wheldale. Pp. x + 318. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1916.) Price 15s. net.

(3) A Text-book of Botany for Colleges.

By Prof. W. F. Ganong. Pp. xi + 401. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1916.) Price 8s. 6d. net.