204 NATURAL SCIENCE [September 



similar case of faulty diction. On p. 371 Rotala verticillata is printed 

 for R. verticillaris, and " near genus " (p. 388) should obviously be 

 "new genus." But errors like these are unimportant and, indeed, 

 almost unavoidable. The main point to recognise is that we have here 

 the second instalment of a work which shows excellent promise of 

 proving creditable alike to the author and to the naturalist of whose 

 ' grit ' and sagacity it bears such unequivocal signs. 



For Amateur Gardeners 



Garden-Making : Suggestions for the use of home grounds. By L. H. Bailey, aided 

 by L. R. Taft, F. A. Waugh and Ernest Walker. Svo, viii + 418 pp. New York : 

 The Macmillan Co. 1898. Price 4s. net. 



Tmc Pjutnino-Book : A monograph of the Pruning and Training of Plants as applied 

 to American conditions. By L. H. Bailey. Svo, xii + 538 pp. New York: The 

 Macmillan Co. 1898. Price 5s. net. 



Although these two charming little books are written primarily for 

 American readers, they should be none the less welcome in this 

 country. There are many things that we can learn from the ingen- 

 uity of our Transatlantic cousins, and under the guidance of Professor 

 Bailey, we are sure to do so in the most pleasant manner possible. 

 The number of books that this genial author contrives to publish 

 during a single year is a marvel in itself, even making allowance for 

 the help of various colleagues ; but what is even more remarkable 

 is the verve with which each is written. Professor Bailey, it is clear, 

 enjoys writing his books, and that is why we all enjoy reading them. 

 The illustrations, too, are always good and appropriate. 



The book on Garden-making is original, with quaint fancies here 

 and there, but practical withal. Its opening paragraph is one of the 

 most fascinating introductions to a fascinating subject that we re- 

 member. Let us quote some sentences. " Every family can have 

 a garden . . . one plant in a tin may be a more helpful and inspiring 

 garden to some mind than a whole acre of lawn and flowers may be 

 ±o another. The satisfaction of a garden does not depend upon the 

 area, nor, happily, upon the cost or rarity of the plants. It depends 

 upon the temper of the person. One must first seek to love plants 

 and nature, and then to cultivate that happy peace of mind which 

 is satisfied with little. If plants grow and thrive, he should be 

 happy ; and if the plants which thrive chance not to be the ones 

 he planted, the}' are plants nevertheless, and nature is satisfied with 

 them. . . . We are happier when we love the things which grow 

 because they must. A patch of lusty pigweeds, growing and crowd- 

 ing in luxuriant abandon, may be a better and more worthy object of 

 affection than a bed of coleuses in which every spark of life and spirit 

 and individuality has been sheared out and suppressed. The man 

 who worries morning and night about the dandelions in the lawn will 

 ■find great relief in loving the dandelions. Each blossom is worth 

 more than a gold coin as it shimmers in the exuberant sunlight of 

 the growing spring, and attracts the bees to its blossom. Little 

 children love the dandelions : why may not we ? Love the things 

 nearest at hand, and love intensely. If I were to write a motto over 

 the gate of a garden, I should choose the remark which Socrates made 



