PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

A Publication of the Botanical Society of America, Inc.

November, 1968   Volume Fourteen   Number Three

Leavings from a London Scrapbook

Arthur W. Galston Yale University

Sabbaticals are supposed to rejuvenatc jaded and tired professors, and London did not disappoint. It is at once a vibrant, impressive, and culture-laden center, offering rich rewards to the casual visitor, but much more so to the long-time dweller. Many of the old stereotypes have to be discarded. For example, the classical London fog is now a rarity, practically a myth, since smokeless fuels have been made mandatory. We had a gorgeous, sunny spring, and even the rainier July hasn't been unpleasant. Comfortable, centrally heated flats are readily available, at least for visiting Americans with distortedly (for the U.K.) large incomes. And food, not usually cited as a strong attraction for the visitor, is excellent, again mainly for those who can pay a premium price. This change is at least partly due to a large influx of foreigners; Greek, Chinese, Italian, Indian, and Pakistani restaurants abound, and French, Turkish, and even Kosher restaurants can be found.

To an American, the most impressive thing about Lon-don is its cleanliness and orderliness compared with, for example, New York City. The parks are incredibly well kept, despite very great public use. Not only is the grass well cut and the trees well pruned, but there are excellent floral displays which are changed frequently. Vandalism seems to be minimal. Rubbish is collected promptly, and in most parts of the city, it is rare to see papers blowing around the street. This is due partly to better anti-litter campaigns and practices, but mostly to efficient and abundant sanitation help. Traffic and noise are serious problems; the former is combatted in part by an efficient underground system and probably made somewhat worse by the numerous double-decker buses which are such an integral part of the London scene. We found the noise problem most serious when low-flying aircraft approached or took off from Heathrow Airport during hours when most people like to sleep.

The London theatre lived up to its reputation. The world's best English language productions can be easily (except for the Old Vic) obtained at truly nominal prices. In addition, opera, ballet, art galleries, and fine music are available virtually every day and night. Needless to say, cinemas are abundant and have a great variety of offerings. We found the jazz fare a little on the slender side, but what we found was of high quality. We are no experts on discotheques, but the two which we had the occasion to visit seemed as noisy and psychedelic as their American counterparts. The miniskirts seemed provocatively short to my middle-aged eyes, and the girls extra-ordinarily attractive, well-scrubbed, and carefully groomed. We lived in a very cosmopolitan neighborhood just north of Kensington Gardens, and I have never seen, in so small a space, such a variety of types living harmoniously. Interracial couples were very common, and elicited no unusual comments or reactions.

Three aspects of life in Britain deserve special mention to Americans. The first is the radio and television system, which carries no advertising and is supported by taxation and the sale of licenses to hearers and viewers. While acknowledging that there may be greater diversity of offer-inns in the U.S., I found the entertainment value much greater in Britain. What a joy to be able to hear 15 minutes of uninterrupted news, sans sales pitches for cigarettes, aspirin, or automobiles! What a joy to see plays lasting several hours, or to hear uninterrupted concerts! I am convinced that we Americans are underprivileged in our listening and viewing.

The newspapers arc also noteworthy. We read the Times and the Guardian daily and the Observer on Sunday. The news and features seemed of very high quality to us .. . no better than the very best U.S. papers, but equally good, and somewhat more succinct. The Times carries a daily science column of very high quality, and the occasional longer articles seemed to me of higher quality than what we usually see. Of course, none of these papers carries a daily horoscope, which may alienate some potential American readers. A convenient feature of the Times is that front page stories are not carried over to pages further back. A great convenience! Also, there is much less advertising copy, so that the papers are less bulky than our own, but not at the sacrifice of news reportage. There is much less attention to crime and criminals, especially before trials, and a dispassionate attitude seems to be maintained. For example, the man the U.S. claims is James Earl Ray, the alleged assasin of Dr. Martin Luther King, is referred to in the British press only as Ramon George Sneyd.

Just a word about the National Health Scheme. I talked with several doctors and people from many walks of life about it. Almost everyone, while admitting to certain inefficiencies and shortcomings, says the system is an outstanding success, and will never be scrapped. Everyone now has access to medical attention, irrespective of ability to pay, and without having to submit to the indignities of paupers' oaths or their equivalent. This is a great accom-

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plishment, and one which I personally would like us to emulate.

I worked at the Department of Biophysics at King's College, which is part of the University of London. The lab, formerly a seed warehouse, is located on Drury Lane (this always elicits some chortles from limerick afficionados) near Covent Garden market. I can testify that it is a very lively and picturesque neighborhood, where Billings-gate and very proper English are encountered with approximately equal frequency. The lab was founded and organized by Sir John Randall, a physicist who turned to biology, and who now investigates the nature and growth of flagella in Chlamydomonas. The Wellcome Foundation furnished some of the money for converting the old ware-house into a handsome and well-equipped lab, and the rest of the operation is supported by the Medical Research Council. Among the other groups at the lab are those under Maurice F. H. Wilkins (co-Nobel Laureate with Watson and Crick for DNA investigations, currently interested in the structure of membranes), S. R. Pelc (well known for autoradiographic techniques), several groups working on muscle structure, and a cell biology group under H. G. Davies.

My research activities have centered about an attempt to localize various biochemical activities in plant cells. Mostly, I have been working with the Zeiss Universal Microspectrophotometer to localize phytochrome in cells of Avena coleoptile tips, etiolated pea epicotyls, and other favorite objects of phytochrome investigations. Using a 1 in diameter microbeam, I scan the various cell organelles under high power to attempt to find regions with high absorbancy in the 660 m1. region. When I find one, I irradiate with high intensity 660mµ light from the mono- chromator, then quickly scan this region again for spectral shifts. If I find a decline at 660mµ and an increase near 730 mlt, I suspect the presence of phytochrome; if subsequent irradiation with 730 reverses the spectral changes induced by 660, this supposition is strengthened. I think I've had some good luck, and this is agreed to by well-known experts in the field of phytochrome. Since this is no place to report scientific data, I'll say no more. Watch your favorite publications for more news, as the saying goes.

 

Plant Science Bulletin

Adolph Hecht, Editor

Department of Botany, Washington State University

Pullman, Washington 99163

Editorial Board

Harlan P. Banks, Cornell University

Norman H. Boke, University of Oklahoma

Sydney S. Greenfield, Rutgers University

William L. Stern, University of Maryland

Erich Steiner, University of Michigan

November, 1968   Volume Fourteen   Number Three

Changes of Address. Notify the Treasurer of the Botanical Society

of America. Inc., Dr. Theodore Delevoryas, Department of Biology,

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut   06520.

Subscriptions for libraries and persons not members of the Bo-

tanical Society of America are obtainable at the rate of 54.00 a

year.   Send orders with checks payable to "Botanical Society of

America, Inc." to the Treasurer.

Material submitted for publication should be typewritten, double-

spaced, and sent in duplicate to the Editor.   Copy should follow

etc style of recent issues of the Bulletin.

Microfilms of Plant Science Bulletin are available from University

Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.

I have also been learning the stripping-film radioautographic technique, as it applies to the localization of soluble compounds in the cell. This involves cryostat microtomy without fixation (which would move around soluble compounds), application of the section to the film under minimal safelight conditions, and development after weeks or months of storage of the section and film in the deep-freeze. I tried to use the technique to localize IAA in the cell, but all I got was uniform distribution of the label. I have some ideas about how to improve this technique (which is terribly exacting), but no interesting results.

I found myself giving many, many seminars at frequent intervals. First of all, as the first botanist ever to have worked in this lab, I spoke four times on "some botanical problems of possible interest to biophysicists." At least one young physicist seems to have been seduced into botany as a result. Other London talks included Bedford College, Imperial College, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Colleges. I also visited University College, the Chelsea Physic Garden and, of course, Kew Gardens at rhododendron time. Seminar talks outside of London included Cambridge, Oxford, Wye College, E. Mailing, Liverpool, Glasgow, Exeter, E. Anglia, Reading, Sussex, Aberystwyth, and Bangor. I think I got a very good cross-section view of British plant physiology, and found myself frequently introducing British botanists to one another. They seem not to get around as much as we do!

I attended three meetings. One, the decennial anniversary of the phyrochemical group, met at Cambridge April 1-3, 1968 to review changes in our understanding of plant chemistry over the last ten years. A book will result, under the editorship of J. B. Harborne. The Royal Society had a one-day symposium in London on cytoplasmic organelles, including outstanding talks by J. Bracher, C. de Duve, D. H. Northcote, and J. Gurdon. The Tate and Lyle Co., Britain's largest sugar producers, sponsored a two-day conference on "Photosynthesis in Sugar Cane," organized by A. J. Vlitos, an American who is research director of their laboratories. The conference featured talks by many Americans, including M. Gibbs, J. A. Bassham, R. C. Fuller, and W. M. Laetsch. All three meetings were entertaining and rewarding.

Despite the trauma of having imminently to face a return to the life of a working man, including committee meetings, telephone interruptions, and the other nondesiderata of university life, I feel this change of pace has been tremendously rewarding. Most of all, it has restored to me the feeling that working hard at uninterrupted scientific research is one of the most enjoyable of all human activities. This, after all, is what brought most of us into the field.

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Where to, General Botany

Hiram F. Thut

Eastern Illinois University

Botany is the science of plants, and a general botany course should acquaint a student with them. That live plants are quite often absent in such teaching is implied by Reed and Ihrig (1968) in, "Botanists have been remiss in exploiting the classroom possibilities of living plants." Apparently many kinds of substitutes have invaded the class-room in lieu of live material. What is the best procedure to follow, and why was the living plant neglected?

After many years of experimentation along the lines of procedure and materials, I have found that the most meaningful course was the one in which live, fresh material was abundant. Not only does this apply to college fresh-men, but it applies even more so to teachers. It is surprising how vaguely people understand plants. For the past several summers I have had N.S.F. students who have had several or more years of high or junior high teaching experience. They had their college degrees with majors in mathematics, physics, chemistry, zoology, biology, agriculture, horticulture, or some other closely related field and were teaching one or several courses in high school science. They admittedly had had very little, or no, formal botanical training and needed such work to enrich their teaching. Many of them were quite well read and could converse in a "bookish" way about the ultrastructures and energy changes of living cells and the theories of the origin of life and evolution. It all sounded plausible; and yet if they were pushed, one became aware their information was often dangling and with little, or no, foundation. So for them, it was necessary to supply a foundation course.

Fortunately for us, the plants were usually not far away. A trip to the garden, greenhouse, forest, park, road, rail-road rights-of-way, and especially the weed patches along streams supplied some desired material. Many kinds and stages of plant material could be grown in the greenhouse, where experiments could be started or performed also.

Thus, one entered the classroom armed with good, live material. Observations of structures or interpretations of experiments would be asked of the students. Razor or knife cuts would be suggested to reveal inner parts or to make microscopic mounts. The student was asked what he saw or how he explains it; seldom was he told. It is not surprising when students have the material in their hands, or if they have made a micrscopic mount, that their answers are quite accurate. They soon learned to compare specimens or micrscopic mounts. A surprising amount of helpfulness develops, and the students criticize each other's material. They see and tell each other what to see. With their observation not of one microscope, nor of one specimen, but of those of the class, the material covered proceeds at a fast pace. No one need sit at his own micro-scope hunting and hunting for some good material that is not there. By admitting that his material, this time, was not good and by observing the better mount and sketching it, if necessary, much time was saved. Most of the time someone else at the table or in the room has the best material, and we all use it. Conversely, at some time every student has the best material; and he could be proud or even boastful of it. This mutual helpful rivalry carries the class right along.

Of course, it was necessary to introduce the most recently published observations or theories. After the students have examined the gross characteristics and structures of live cells by their microscopes, the pictures and explanations from the electron microscope were used to bring them up to date. Because the student prepared his own microscopic mounts, he has acquired a feeling of position and location. By superimposing the electron microscope pictures on his own, they are not detached but become part of his experience. After observing the dry weight loss, the giving off of carbon dioxide, the use of oxygen, the heat energy released, plus the difference between alive and dead cells, the student acquires some feeling for respiration. At least various everyday problems can be explained at these levels. Just how far one should carry the ultimate explanations in chemical terms as published in current literature depends upon the time and maturity of the students.

Thus by oral directions, observations, interpretation, discussions, and explanations, the student explores facts about plants in a research atmosphere. And he has a challenging, good time doing it with his classmates. This type of teaching is quite easy if one has very good material and the experiments are in their prime. Such teaching requires the constant checking of materials and the watering of plants even on Saturdays or Sundays. Teaching general botany becomes a way of life, for one is constantly looking for fresh plants and new ideas.

In contrast to the preceding, there are available to the instructor in general botany many items or materials pre-pared by commercial concerns. Textbooks have been writ-ten and rewritten, and many of them are well illustrated. A good text, or texts, is a must for most of us, at least as a reference. Furniture, microscopes, and laboratory manuals are recognized necessities. However, serious doubts can be raised about some laboratory manuals or their use. If the directions for the observations or experiments have all the answers written into the text, then why bother to do the exercise? The exercise turns out to be a re-run, and it is little fun to do something with all the results already before you. Laboratories almost run alone by giving the student so many directions in a manual; the student has little time for anything else. The ultimate in laboratory guides was a class observed in a large university where the students read the study questions and the instructor dictated the answers.

Many aids written and drawn by competent persons are available for such teaching. All kinds of reprints, charts, models, prepared slides, lantern slides, transparencies, and films have been produced. As a matter of fact, the commercial concerns have almost monopolized some botany courses. There are sufficient "help" materials to allow one to give a year's course this way. These materials can completely replace fresh material. My, how these materials save the instructor's time! But are we doing good teaching by saving the instructor's time? Maybe our teaching methods are reflected in the students' attitude of hating science? We in botany, in general, have not done a good job in teaching our subject. Just investigate the state of general botany in many schools.

Many teachers prefer to, or of necessity must, teach by

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the lecture .method; and some of the prepared materials are very helpful. Just how a lecture comes "alive" depends on the ingenuity of the instructor and his use of fresh and prepared materials. Some lecturers do an excellent job of presentation, and the system should not be condemned be-cause of a poor performer. However, the lecture should not be used as an escape. As a colleague remarked, If you have time, you prepare the materials; if not, you lecture." Sometimes showing a film is in the same category.

Total condemnation of these teaching aids is not the intent of this paper. They make an excellent supplement to the live material, but they are not the live material. Too many of us are prone to teach the aid and not the plant. After having an N.S.F. class see "exploding" fern sporangia, fern spores, various ages of live prothalli, the rupturing antheridia with their swimming sperms, various sizes of developing embryos attached to the prothalli and mature fern plants, a student remarked, "I have taught the life history of ferns for ten years, and this is the first time I have ever seen any of it. Now I understand what is happening." Apparently that teacher was teaching only aids.

The thing that is most disturbing to me is the intended or suggested follow-up reaction of students who say, "This is the best course I ever had in college." They had lived through a course with much plant material and many live experiments. They enjoyed observing, comparing, dissecting, smelling, and even tasting plants. They had been prodded to explain how, why, when, and where, and had been delighted in the experience. So they asked, "Why don't you write a book?" or "I have enough notes in my notebook to write a book." Do they realize what they are saying? They want to fix by publishing, or having published, the interesting observations or data they enjoyed collecting. Instead of having their students struggle through the how, why, when, and where, they want to tell them. Maybe it is the same motive many of us have in taking pictures. It was a pleasing experience or scene, and we want to take it with us. A picture is a way to remember. And so- their students are going to be told about their experience and be denied having the experience. One can be sure of his classroom procedure if he uses pictures, models, charts, and printed pages. The variables associated with live material can be eliminated if such helps are used. Besides, a laboratory can become quite cluttered if one uses fresh material. So botany be-comes a course in classroom helps and movies. Is that what has happened to many general botany courses?

LITERATURE CITED
REED. ELIZABETH W. AND ELIZABETH A. IHEIG. 1968. Com-

mon plants useful for classrooms. Pl. Sci. Bull. 14(2) :2-6.

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NOTES ,FROM THE EDITOR

May I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Bill Stern for the superb job he did as "Temporary Editor." One might assume that this was very easy for Bill to do since he him-self had been Editor for several years preceding my cur-rent term. But it must be remembered that all of the machinery of the editor's office had been moved across the continent, and in consequence Bill had to carry out what to me are routine local communications through the indirect procedures of mail correspondence. Among other problems was his need to "scrounge" for appropriate copy to fill our usual eight pages at quarterly intervals. This continues to be my problem, yet surely the botanists of America are engaged in many activities that deserve to be brought to the attention of our readers. May I suggest that each department chairman appoint one member of his faculty (or himself) to see that information about important and significant advances in botanical thought and education as well as notes concerning personnel changes in his department are sent in at regular intervals for publication in the Bulletin.

Plant Science Bulletin welcomes an attractive northern cousin publication, the CBA-ABC BULLETIN, which is published by the Canadian Botanical Association—L'Association Botanique du Canada. Volume 1, Number 1 appeared in January, 1968, with Numbers 2 and 3 coming in April and July, respectively; Number 4 of this quarterly was scheduled for October. Dr. Janet R. Stein of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver 8, is both Chair-man of the Publication Committee and Editor. She writes that she would appreciate receiving any information that may be pertinent to her readers.

Another new publication is the TULANE STUDIES IN ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY (formerly Tulane Studies in Zoology) . Botanical research articles of unusual length (50-150 ms. pages) will be considered. Published by the Graduate School of Tulane University, this journal has an average circulation of 1000 copies. It is sent in ex-change to university libraries and research centers through-out the world. Prompt review and editing is promised for articles that are submitted. For further information write: Prof. G. E. Gunning (Editor) or Prof. A. L. Welden (Assoc. Editor), Dept. Biology, Tulane Univ., New Or-Ieans, Louisiana 70118.

Awards Presented at the Botanical Society's Banquet

The DARBAKER PRIZE of $300 awarded annually for meritorious work in microscopical algae was divided between Robert R. L. Guillard (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts) for his work on the culture, physiology, and ecology of important marine phytoplankton species and James S. Craigie (Atlantic Regional Laboratory, National Research Council of Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) for his research program in the physiology and biochemistry of marine algae.

The COOLEY AWARD of $100, presented annually for the most outstanding contributed paper given at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Taxono-

s, was awarded to Dr. Rainer W. Scora (University of fornia at Riverside) for his paper on "Divergence in tarda (Labiatae)."

The JESSE M. GREENMANN AWARD of $100, eslished in 1968 by the Alumni Association of the Misri Botanical Garden, and awarded annually for the best :torate thesis in plant systematics published during the ceding year, was awarded to Dr. Carl S. Keener (Dertment of Botany. Pennsylvania State University) for his Lblicarion "A Biosystematic Study of Clematis, subsection tegrifolia" ( Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific )ciety, 1967) .

The NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN AWARD f $250 was made to Dr. Vernon Ahmadjian (Clark Uniersity, Worcester, Mass.) for his incisive and analytic pproach to the problem of association of algal partners n the formation of lichens.

The HENRY ALLAN GLEASON AWARD of The New York Botanical Garden is presented annually to the author of an outstanding recent publication in botany—usually plant taxonomy, phyrogeography, or ecology. The 1968 award of $100 was presented to Dr. Richard Cowan (Director of the U.S. National Museum of Natural History) by virtue of his recent publication, dated May 10, 1968, which is the first monograph ro appear in "Flora Neorropica," dealing with Swartzia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Swartaieae). This first monograph will set a favorable precedent for the long and successful existence of an enormously important publication, "Flora Neotropica."

The annual MERIT AWARDS of the Botanical Society of America were made to Dr. Frederick K. Sparrow (University of Michigan) and Dr. Elso S. Barghoorn (Harvard University). The citations read: "To Frederick K. Spar-row, for the unique breadth and quality of his scholarship and teaching, and for his superb monographic work on the fungi of fresh and marine waters of the world: A fabled collector, meticulous observer and vibrant personality,.,,

"To Elso S. Barghoorn, brilliant investigator of structure and evolution in plants of the present and the remote past, and an outstanding pioneer in the discovery of a wide variety of precanrbrian fossils, the most ancient life-forms at present known to science."

NEWS AND NOTES

Revised Edition, Guide to Graduate Study in Botany Now Available

The Guide to Graduate Study in Botany for the United States 1968 has just been issued by the Botanical Society of America. This paper-bound book of 87 pages provides detailed information regarding 115 departments that offer the Ph.D. degree in some area of the plant sciences. The new edition features an alphabetical index to all persons listed among the faculties of the departments that have been included. Somewhat larger print than that of the first edition is another improvement. Copies are available at $3.00 each, postpaid, from Dr. R. C. Starr, Secretary of

the Botanical Society, Department of Botany, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47401.

First AIBS National Biological Congress

The Governing Board of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, at its recent meeting, passed a resolution to hold National Biological Congresses in 1970, 1971, and 1972. The First Congress will be held in Detroit, Michigan. 6-10 November 1970, under the Chairmanship of Dr. William D. McElroy of Johns Hopkins University. These congresses will not supplant the regular AIBS meetings, which will continue to be held on college campuses in late August. Additional information will be published in BioScience, or can be obtained by writing to Dr. John R. Olive, 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.. Washington, D.C. 20016.

Environmental Health Fellowships

Applications for Environmental Health Fellowships are now being accepted for the 1969-1970 academic year at the Consolidated University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill and Raleigh campuses). Recipients participate in mulridepartmental programs designed to prepare graduate students for careers in research, teaching, and practice in the various specialized fields in environmental health. This program is sponsored jointly by the Departments of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology of the School of Public Health; the Departments of Botany, City and Regional Planning, Geology, and Zoology of the School of Arts and Sciences; the School of Medicine and the Department of Food Science at North Carolina State University at Raleigh. Students generally en-roll in the department of their basic specialty for training in depth in that area and then elect courses in other departments in order to obtain a broad understanding of the problems of the environment and the relation of their specialty to the solution of these problems. Fellowships are available for masters and doctoral candidates. They pro-vide for tuition, fees, and a stipend, including a dependency allowance. Postdoctoral fellowships are also available. Further information may be obtained by writing the Institute of Environmental Health Studies, Box 630, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, or the head of any of the departments mentioned above.

New Graduate Program

The Life Sciences Department of Southwest Missouri State College, Springfield, has initiated two graduate pro. grams in biology: (1) Master of Arts, (2) Master o Science (Secondary School Teaching)- Students wishin; to study in botany may choose a concentration of course in this area or write a thesis based on research in one c the following fields: vascular taxonomy, ecology, algolog agrostology, morphology, or bryology. The department wi move into a new building which will include an enlarge herbarium, ecology laboratory, greenhouse, and mode research facilities. For further information, write to I Robert T. Stevenson, department head.

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Phytochemical Section of the Botanical Society

This new section devoted to all aspects of plant chemistry was organized at the 1968 annual meetings of the Botanical Society held at The Ohio State University. Its formation is an outgrowth of the increasing interest in bringing together workers concerned with relating the structure, biosynthesis, biological roles, and distribution of plant constituents.

The program of the section will include a newsletter and meetings. It will also on occasion collaborate in joint programs and symposia with other sections and with the Phytochemical Society of North America.

At the organizational meeting, following a symposium on Recent Developments in Phytochemistry, officers for 1968-1970 were elected: Chairman, Torn Mabry, University of Texas at Austin; Vice-chairman, Rainer Scora, University of California at Riverside; Secretary-treasurer, Jerry W. McClure, Miami University.

Individuals interested in membership in the section and in receiving and contributing to Phytochemical Section Newsletter should write the Secretary-treasurer, Jerry W. McClure, Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056.

Personalia

RUFUS MOORE, an active member of the Department of Botany at the University of Nebraska, retired effective September 1, 1968, after over twenty years with that department. ERIC DAVIES, who has just completed his Ph.D. at McGill University, will fill the vacancy resulting from Dr. Moore's retirement.

Two new member of the Botany Department at Washington State University are GEORGE G. SPOMER, formerly of the Botany Department, University of Chicago, and JAMES C. HICKMAN, who recently completed his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon. Dr. Spomer will teach courses in ecology and general biology, while Dr. Hick-man's initial assignment will be in general biology and systematic botany.

ROBERT W. EMBREE, formerly of Brown University, RICHARD D. SJOLUND of the University of California —Davis, WAYNE C. CARLSON of Indiana University, and JEFFRY T. SCHABILION of the University of Kansas have joined the faculty of the Department of Botany, University of Iowa. Dr. Embree will teach experimental mycology; Dr. Sjolund will teach cytology and cell ultra-structure; Dr. Carlson will conduct the program in genetics and cytogenetics; and Dr. Schabilion will teach paleobotany.

ELWOOD B. EHRLE of the Department of Biology of the State University College at Geneseo, New York, has taken a leave of absence to become Associate Director of the Office of Biological Education of the American Institute of Biological Sciences in Washington, D.C.

STEPHEN R. CONNOR has joined the Research Division of Rohm and Haas Company at its Spring House, Pennsylvania, laboratories, where he has been assigned to the Agricultural Field Testing Group for research on experimental agricultural chemicals. Dr. Connor received his doctorate this last June from the Department of Plant Pathology of the University of Delaware.

Robert Meredith Page—1919-1968

The sudden and unexpected death of Professor Robert M. Page on May 17, 1968, came as a profound shock to his many friends and to the national botanical community. His nimble wit, his geniality, and his ready willingness to give of his time and effort to anyone in need or to any good scientific, social, or political cause will be sorely missed.

Page, a native of Pasadena, California, entered Harvard College in 1937 on a National Scholarship and graduated Magna Cunt Laude with his class in 1941. As an under-graduate, Page, a tall, lanky ectomorph, was a member of the Yacht Club, did some intramural rowing, and was a moving spirit of the Biological Club (Secretary in his third year). The academic year following his graduation he spent as a graduate student with JRR at Indiana University, from whence he was inducted into the United States Army. His tour of duty in the armed forces was mostly spent at Camp Dietrick, Maryland, in the Chemical Warfare Service. In 1944 he married Dr. Virginia Michaud, a former fellow graduate student at Indiana University. Upon his discharge from the army in 1945, he resumed his graduate work as a predoctoral National Institutes of Health Fellow at Harvard under the sponsorship of Prof. Wm. H. Weston. The Ph.D. was earned in 1948 with the doctoral dissertation entitled, "Studies on the Metabolism and Conservation of the Dermatophytes," a work largely concerned with the degradation of keratin by pathogenic fungi.

Appointed Assistant Professor of Biology at Stanford University in 1948, he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1954 and to Professor in 1963. He remained in residence at Stanford throughout this period except for a year's leave at Harvard in 1963.

When a sophomore at Harvard, Page took Weston's course in Cryptogamic Botany and was thereafter never quite the same. At this time early in his career, he developed an infectious affection for lower plants in general and for the dung-inhabiting phycomycetous fungi in particular that dictated the course of his own later work and was transmitted to several generations of Stanford students. His own enthusiasm for the subject material of biology, his ability for concise organization of information, his whimsical wit, and his natural love of people—particularly young people—contributed critically to his unusual effectiveness as a teacher. For many years, he taught the elementary botany course, and a large number of Stanford students learned, often to their surprise, that plants are interesting; that the interest was genuine was reflected in continuing heavy enrollments in the advanced botanical courses.

His research subsequent to his doctoral work primarily concerned various aspects of the physiology and over-all biology of two members of the Mucorales, Phycomyces and Pilobolus, with particular attention focused on photobiological phenomena. With more than a little touch of the puritan, Page wanted to be beholden neither to man nor to benevolent agencies: applications for research grants and fellowships were accordingly rare and exceedingly modest. His research was thus often done with equipment and

7

facilities that ranged from obsolete to primitive. He was a wizard in the fabrication from scavenged bits and pieces of jury-rigged devices for specific purposes, and it was truly remarkable how well they ultimately worked. A case in point: the first picture of the "lift-off" of a sporangium of Pilobolus on its jet of liquid was taken with a set-up containing electronic elements scrounged from waste barrels along the streets near the laboratory. He did, however, properly appreciate and upon occasion made use of the elegant equipment of his colleagues: the measurement of the muzzle-velocity of a Pilobolus-sporangium was made in collaboration with a very well-instrumented neurophysiologist-colleague.

Page's publications were not voluminous, but his contributions were very significant. He had the happy facility of recognizing the central feature of a problem and of designing elegant but simple experiments to clarify specific points and to elucidate basic principles. His research papers, though relatively few, presented the results of meticulously careful work in models of clear, concise exposition, and his several reviews reflected an authoritative understanding of the conceptual and factual development and status of the subjects.

His achievements as a scientist, however, were no more critical in earning him the wide affection and respect that he enjoyed than was his warm personality. High good wit and humor, unstinting work devoted to worthy causes—local and national committees and panels—and an extra-ordinarily acute awareness of the sensibilities and needs of others combined to make of Bob a rare, precious person who has enriched the lives of so many students, colleagues, and friends. As one of us remarked upon hearing of his death, "I would feel far better about my own life if I thought someone feels about me the way I feel about Page."

John R. Raper and Winslow R. Briggs Harvard University

Book Reviews

JONES, GEORGE NEVIL.LE. Taxonomy of American Spe-

cies of Linden (Tilia). Illinois Biological Mono-graphs 39. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 1968. 156 pages. $5.95.

The primary aim of this paperback monograph is to describe and discuss the American species of linden. The study is based principally upon morphology, taxonomy, and ecology, that is, upon the study of the structure of pre-served specimens in the herbarium, and observation and collection of specimens from living trees in the field. Although there are only four species of Tilia in America as contrasted with the relatively complex Tilia flora of east-ern Asia, the latter has been more clearly defined than its simpler counterpart in eastern North America. Author Jones covers the voluminous literature and extensive lists of synonyms in scholarly fashion; specimen citations from all portions of North America attest to the painstaking scrutiny applied to problems. A true, synthetic mono-graph, the author covers all pertinent aspects of his study including sections on morphology, chromosomes, hybrids, properties and uses, propagation, age and size, geographical distribution, fossil lindens, origin and evolution, and,

of course, keys to species and descriptions of taxa. With the name linden so closely associated with the name of Linnaeus, the introductory section on names makes fascinating reading for those so inclined.

William L. Stern

SMITH, KENNETH M. Plant Viruses. 4th Edition. Meth-

uen & Co. Ltd., London. 1968. Distributed in

U.S.A. by Barnes and Noble, Inc., N.Y. 166 pages,

15 plates. $5.00.

The 4th edition of Dr. Smith's book represents a contribution to Methuen's series of Monographs on Biological Subjects. The text of this 4th edition has been completely rewritten and attempts to present the reader with an over-all synopsis of the field of plant virology. Need-less to say, this is difficult in view of the amount of in-formation available but the author does present a very interesting, concise, readable review of the subject matter. This book will be very useful for teachers of plant virology at the introductory level and for scientists in allied fields who wish to have a brief exposure to plant virology.

The author briefly exposes the reader to the classical as well as the modern approaches to plant virology. After a short introduction, the symptoms and physiology of virus-infected plants are discussed followed by chapters on the isolation, purification, morphology, structure, and chemical nature of the virus particle. The biological aspects of plant virology are included in chapters on infection, replication, transmission, assay, serology, tissue and cell culture, method of testing, and, finally, a chapter on nomenclature, classification, and control.

In some chapters, especially those dealing with the chemistry and replication of viruses, the author might have considered deleting certain chapters thus allowing for a more detailed coverage of the recent modern aspects of plant virology.

M. K. Corbett

MARAMOROSCH, KARL (Editor) Insect Viruses. Vol. 42.

Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Springer-Verlag, New York Inc. 1968. 192 pages, 34 figures. $9.00.

This volume edited by Dr. Karl Maramorosch represents seven papers presented at a Symposium on Insect Viruses held in conjunction with the 67th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New York, N.Y. on 30 April-4 May 1967. The papers are well prepared and present a concise survey of the viruses that affect insects. Gordon R. Stairs' paper presents the "Inclusion-Type Insect Viruses" and C. Vago covers the "Non-Inclusion Virus Diseases." Roy W. Chamberlain prepared the chapter on the "Arboviruses, the Arthropod-Borne Animal Viruses," and Robert Seecof discusses "The Sigma Virus Infection of Drosophila melanogaster." The "Plant Pathogenic Viruses in Insects" is presented by Karl Maramorosch. James C. Vaughn gives " A Review of the Use of Insect Tissue Culture for the Study of Insect-Associated Viruses," and the last paper by Carlo M. Ignoffo discusses "Viruses-Living Insecticides."

This volume should appeal to a large diverse audience in the field of biological science, especially those wishing a modern presentation of the viruses affecting insects.

M. K, Corbett

8

CHRISTENSEN, EARL M. Bibliography of Utah Botany

and Wild/and Conservation. Brigham Young Univer-

sity Science Bulletin, Biological Series 9. Brigham

Young University, Provo. 1967. 136 pages.

This bibliography includes articles on botany per se, biotic communities, range management, watershed management, forestry, recreational use of wildlands, and those aspects of zoology and wildlife management involving plant communities or habitat management. Most of the references are to scientific papers and theses, but selected semipopular and popular articles are included. References published by December 31, 1964 are listed. The references are arranged alphabetically by author. A chronological arrangement follows the alphabetical listing. A general subject index based on the reference titles is included also.

William L. Stern

MCLEAN, R. C., W. R. IVIMEY-COOK, AND KENNETH R. LEWIS. Textbook of Theoretical Botany. Volume III. Part One. Paleobotany, pp. 2205-2605; Part Two, Genetics, pp. 2609-2802; Part Three, Physiology, pp. 2805-3290; Index, 3291-3313. John Wiley & Sons Inc. New York. 1967. $19.25.

Each of the three segments of this volume represents a textbook, complete with illustrations, on the subjects of paleobotany, genetics, and physiology. The segment on genetics was authored by Kenneth Lewis. The contents for each volume arc collected in three separate lists at the beginning of the volume; the indices are collected in three lists at the end of the book.

The paleobotanical section has a very brief introduction and it is apparent that the reader is expected to know considerable about the means of fossilization, the geologic processes, techniques of study, and the geological column. A logical division into geological eras and their subunits provides a framework for the discussion of the fossil plants extant during these time periods. Each major time period is introduced with a description of major features and events. Within each time period, plants are considered taxonomically, i.e., from the lower taxa to the higher taxa. Although there are continuous references to the literature, no bibliographic material is included, an unfortunate circumstance which somewhat limits the usefulness of this section to beginning researchers.

Kenneth Lewis' section on genetics is not aimed at the neophyte; rather, he presupposes some basic knowledge of genetics on the part of his readers. The elements of nuclear division are treated succinctly and the experiments of Mendel are set forth clearly. Independent assortment is outlined and contrasted with linkage. Meiosis is described in some detail including chiasmata and crossing over. A considerable section is devoted to the statistical analyses of genetic ratios and chromosome mapping. Sex chromosomes and sex linkage, bases of variation, ploidy, mutations and natural selection, breeding systems, speciation, and gene action complete the "physical" aspects of genetics. The final pages are directed to "chemical" genetics including a discussion of the nucleic acids and their role in replication and transfer of genetic information. A brief list of books for further reading concludes this section.

Physiology is discussed under headings of water supply, metabolism, and growth and reactivity. In contradistinction to the sections on paleobotany and genetics, physiology seems to begin at a more rudimentary level, and the simple processes of electron pairing and hydrogen bonding are explained at the outset as are the phenomena of solution and ionization. Interestingly, a more detailed discussion of the nucleic acids occurs in this section than in the section on genetics. The author apologizes in the preface for his not being a "professed physiologist"; nevertheless, he has carried off this difficult task of summary writing with clarity and simplicity. Here again, though, there are no literature citations for further reading.

It seems that these "textbooks" are not designed for the novice; rather, they serve well to reacquaint the professional botanist with long-forgotten subject material. The graduate student seeking a concise introduction into a new field will find these selections excellent reading. The researcher, alas, will be left wondering, "Where do I go now?"

William L. Stern

PARRIS, G. K. A Chronology of Plant Pathology. John-son and Sons, Starkville, Mississippi. 1968. 167 pages + vi. $2.00.

Anyone who would even attempt a chronology of a science which had its beginnings almost 4,000 years ago is highly deserving of accolades. Professor H. H. Whetzel was the last to accomplish this when he published his "Outline of the History of Phytopathology" in 1918. Professor Parris has attempted to update the work of Whetzel by reviewing chronologically the important developments in plant pathology that have occurred beginning 2,000 BC when reference was first made to the use of a fungicide to control field and storage pests up to the release of Bawden's revised edition of Plant Viruses and Virus Diseases in 1964. In places, the information is sketchy; however, this is to be expected and where additional information is desired, the reader can refer to the textbooks and review articles that Parris used as his source of information.

The author also includes an index of author and subject matter with the year of occurrence. Easy to read, and reasonably priced, this book can be recommended both to beginners and to advanced workers in the field interested in the events in the evolution of plant pathology as a science.

George A. Bean

JENKINS, W. R., AND D. P. TAYLOR. Plant Nematology.

Reinhold, New York, N.Y. 1967. 270 pages.

This is an elementary text dealing primarily with nematodes parasitic on plants. Four chapters on biology, structure, and host-parasite relations of nematodes are followed by 16 brief chapters covering individual genera of plant-parasitic nematodes. The book concludes with a chapter on "nonparasitic soil nematodes" and three chapters on nematode control. This book would be suitable for use in an introductory undergraduate course in plant nematology.

L. R. Krusberg