of topics, text and other books, and special methods. Advice is occasionally offered, however, upon important points in which most teachers are now known to agree. 6. It recognizes the existence of, and provides for, two modes of procedure in the sequence of topics. In one, which is that strongly advised by the committee, the general facts of plant structure and function, permitting a beginning with large and familiar objects and phenomena, are first studied, to be followed later by a study of representatives of the groups of plants from the lower to the higher; in the other the study of the groups is the backbone, as it were, of the course, which begins with the lowest forms and introduces the physiological and morphological topics at appropriate places in the ascending series. The two modes, however, lead to substantially the same result, and a common examination is practicable for both. 7. The amount of work in the course is designed to occupy a a year of five periods a week under good conditions. Where special circumstances, such as exceptional difficulty of obtaining material, etc., prevent the completion of the entire amount while allowing its equivalent in thoroughness, it is recommended that some of the minor topics here and there be omitted rather than that the attempt be made to cover all superficially. To provide for this possibility the examination papers should always include a number of alternative questions. 8. The time per week, inclusive of recitation, preparation, and laboratory should be the same as for any other subject. Where five periods a week, with an hour of preparation for each, are de-. manded for other studies, this course should receive the equivalent of two recitation periods with their preparation, together with three double (not six separated) periods in the laboratory. Variation from this should be towards a greater, not a lesser proportion of laboratory work. The preparation of records of the laboratory work, in which stress is laid upon diagrammatically accurate drawing and precise and expressive description, should be regarded as an integral part of the course; and these records, preferably in a notebook, should be counted at least one-third towards the students' standing. 9. The course is arranged in two parts, each occupying a halfyear and complete in itself. This is in part to accord with principle 6, preceding, and in part to allow either a combination of a half year of botany with a half year of zoology to form a year's course in biology, or else to provide a shorter course as needed in some schools. In any case a half-year course in botany should consist of Part I or Part II, never of a combination of both, a recommendation based partially upon educational principle and partly upon the practical difficulty of providing examinations and articulating later college courses with such diverse combinations. 10. The course is intended to be relatively permanent, yet is modifiable in adaptation to changing educational conditions and the approved results of experience. Changes will not, however, be made for some time, and not until announced in a fifth edition of this report. The committee will welcome all suggestions and criticisms. Those interested in the theories of sex-heredity will find an interesting paper on "A Mendelian View of Sex-heredity" by Professor W. E. Castle, of Harvard, in Science, for March 5, 1909; in this paper Professor Castle brings "into harmony the seemingly discordant results of Wilson, of Correns, and of Bateson and his associates." NEWS ITEMS A company called "The Luther Burbank's Products Company, Incorporated" has recently been formed with a capitalization of several million dollars. The company will attend to business matters connected with Mr. Burbank's work, and control the distribution of his new productions. Dr. N. L. Britton, director-in-chief of the New York Botanical Garden, accompanied by Mrs. Britton and Dr. Marshall A. Howe, curator of the museums, sailed for Jamaica, February 20. They expect to spend about six weeks visiting the eastern parts of Jamaica and Cuba, and possibly some of the southwestern Bahamian islands. Two new national forests were recently created by President Roosevelt. One is the Ocala National Forest in Marine County, in eastern Florida, the first created east of the Mississippi River, and it contains over 200,000 acres, well adapted to the growth of sand pine. The second is the Dakota National Forest in Billings County, North Dakota, and it consists of over 14,000 acres in the Bad Lands region, part of which are to be used as an experimental field for forest planting. It is to be hoped that these Dakota nurseries may prove most successful, as North Dakota has a lower per cent. of forest land than any other state - about one per cent. The first number of Mycologia, a new journal devoted to fungi and lichens, was issued in January, 1909. Dr. William A. Murrill, of the New York Botanical Garden, is the editor. Many well-known mycologists appear as associate editors; and several others have promised their support. Although undertaken in continuation of the work formerly done by the Journal of Mycology, edited by the late Professor Kellerman, Mycologia has not assumed any of the obligations of the publisher of that journal. The main features of the new journal will be, first, technical articles of value to investigators in pure or applied mycology, second, popular articles of interest to the fungusloving public, third, good illustrations, many of them in natural colors, fourth, news and notes, largely relating to literature of interest to American students. TORREYA AND NATURE-STUDY REVIEW Special combined price $1.50 for the year 1909 This special offer is good only as long as the publishers of the above journals can supply back numbers of early 1909 issues. In no case will the subscription be extended beyond December of this year. The offer is limited to new subscribers of either journals and also is not open to members of the American Nature-Study Society, of which THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW is the official journal free to members. By later sending 25 cents additional to the Secretary of the Society the subscription on above terms may be credited as member's fee for the American Nature Society for 1909. Correspondence relating to above special offer should be addressed to DR. WILLIAM MANSFIELD College of Pharmacy 115 W. 68th Street New York City OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany, established 1870. Vol. 35 published in 1908, contained 608 pages of text and 40 full-page plates. Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. for England. Dulau & Co., 37 Soho Square, London, are agents Of former volumes, only 24-34 can be supplied entire; certain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. Vols. 24-27 are furnished at the published price of two dollars each; Vols. 28-35 three dollars each. Single copies (30 cts.) will be furnished only when not breaking complete volumes. (2) MEMOIRS The MEMOIRS, established 1889, are published at irregular intervals. Volumes 1-11 and 13 are now completed; Nos. I and 2 of Vol. 12 and No. 1 of Vol. 14 have been issued. The subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers can also be purchased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and of prices will be furnished on application. (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and Pteridophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New York, 1888. Price, $1.00. Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to DR. WILLIAM MANSFIELD College of Pharmacy 115 W. 68TH STREET NEW YORK CITY |