CURRENT LITERATURE.
Iflomance of Low Life among Plants. By M. C. Cooke. (S.P.C.K.)— The life-history of Ferns, Alga), and Fungi is made very interesting to the student by Mr. Cooke, without any sacrifice of accuracy. There is much of even popular romance about mosses and lichens ; reindeer.moss is the staple-food of an animal which is practically the only support of the Lapp ; and lichens, in respect of age, can vie with the most highly developed vegetables, living, it is said, a thousand years. A remarkable comparison this between the lowest and highest forms of vegetable life. Alga], again, are responsible, doubtless, for the Sea-Serpent, and give rise to many curious phenomena, coloured lakes—" Glas-Lough," for instance—
and red and green snows, bloody hail, and other terrifying things. Besides these curiosities, many famous theories, sponta- neous generation, dual existence, and the like, have always in- vested the lower forms of vegetable life with intense interest. This is a most readable and really well-written book.
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