198 NOTES AND COMMENT 



of nature study. From first to last, however, the attitude of the author 

 is one of hostihty to weeds. He defines agriculture as "a controversy 

 with weeds," and nowhere says a single good word for any one of the 

 numerous handsome plants which may be gathered from the roadside 

 for interior decoration or may be brought into the garden for its adorn- 

 ment, with many advantages over the less vigorous exotic. It may be 

 the case, however, that as soon as we admire a weed it ceases to be a 

 weed. 



Over seventy of the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature 

 have now been issued. They are authoritative in authorship, readable 

 in style, and small enough for the coat pocket. One of the most inter- 

 esting of the recent numbers is The Fertility of the Soil, by Dr. Edward 

 J. Russell, Director of the Rothamstead Station, who discusses this 

 subject in its scientific aspects and also tells the history of the notable 

 agricultural progress made in Great Britain during the last forty years. 

 Prof. Clement Reid has written on Submerged Forests, and Prof. George 

 H. Carpenter on the Life-Story of Insects. 



