REVIEWS 175 



New Botany," alludes mysteriously to a " British Empire Naturalists' Association" 

 without satisfying the reader's natural curiosity to learn more about this body, and 

 has so much to say about herbarium and museum methods that we are lost in 

 wonder at his choice of a title for the book. Shorn of such irrevelant matter, 

 including much that is perfectly pointless (though doubtless the Cambridge Botany 

 School, the British Museum, and the numerous other institutions as well as 

 persons whose names are scattered through the book will be grateful for the 

 approval showered upon them), but also, it must be admitted, a certain amount of 

 useful information brought together in this somewhat incoherent volume, the 

 amount of letterpress that really deals with practical field botany is rather small 

 and assuredly not such as is likely to be of interest or service to either of the two 

 classes of readers for whom the author tells us the book is intended — " the 

 amateur with little or no expert knowledge" and "the student who has some 

 expert knowledge and an object in view." The "outline of plant formations" 

 (pp. 122-80), which, together with certain parts of the first chapter, constitutes 

 what we may call the residue that realises the book's title, can hardly meet the 

 needs of the first class of reader, while those of the second class are already much 

 better provided for elsewhere. 



We suppose this book must be classed under the comprehensive title of 

 "nature study," and though most books of this kind are not worth reviewing at 

 all in a journal devoted to recording the progress of science, we may take this 

 opportunity of protesting once more against the flooding of the market with 

 trashy books on natural history by publishers — often enough of deservedly high 

 repute in other respects — who will not take the precaution of consulting com- 

 petent readers before accepting and publishing what is offered to them. One 

 hesitates to say too harsh things about the authors of these books, who, on the 

 ground of youth or inexperience or mistaken enthusiasm, or simply as victims of 

 scribbling itch, may deserve pity rather than blame ; or even about their pub- 

 lishers, who are simply turning out anything that looks likely to sell— partly 

 owing to the indiscriminate praise lavished on every new book on " nature study " 

 in the review (and advertisement) columns of the newspaper press, but mainly 

 because of the apparently insatiable demand, arising from the increasing interest 

 in natural history, for books on this subject. Surely, however, either author or 

 publisher or both should see that the letterpress (the illustrations are usually 

 good, often extremely so) is read and, if necessary, thoroughly revised by one or 

 more competent referees. This policy would pay, too, for good books on natural 

 history may be expected to find a continued sale long after bad ones have met 

 their natural fate. And there is ample room for really good books on " nature 

 study " topics ; for instance, a good book on practical field botany is rather badly 

 wanted. 



F. Cavers. 



Soil Conditions and Plant Growth. By Edward J. Russell, D.Sc 

 [Pp. viii + 190, with 9 illustrations. Second edition.] (London : Longmans, 

 Green & Co., 191 5. Price 5.5-. net.) 

 One learns with little surprise that a second impression of this admirable work 

 was called for shortly after the first was published in 191 2, and that the important 

 recent additions that have been made to soil-science — largely as the outcome of 

 the investigations of the author and his colleagues at Rothamsted — have 

 necessitated the writing of a new chapter in the present third impression (new 

 edition) on the relationship between the micro-organic population of the soil and 



