29 JUNE 1912, Page 13

seadiee in Seeds and Fruit. By H. B. Guppy, M.B.,

F.R.S.E. (Williams and Norgate. 15s. net.)—Mr. Guppy has made an exceedingly painetaking study in detail of an intricate subject. He writes of experiments he has made in tho behaviour of seeds under different conditions ; of their capacity for absorbing water and their varying needs of moisture ; of the reasons of failure to germinate, of the rest-period required by seeds, and the problem of coloration. It is an exhaustive work, and evidently the result of remarkably patient investigation ; but its author sees more work in front of him. He is interested in the subject of the dis- tribution of seeds by currents, especially the Gulf Stream, and he asks any of his readers who may pick up seeds on the western sea- board of Europe, from the North Cape to the Straits of Gibraltar, to send them to him. This suggests an interesting monograph.