THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 37 



the first or best criterion of a magazine. Subject matter, type 

 area, and number of pages are of more importance. When 

 these are. considered, The American Botanist at the special 

 rate, is absolutely the cheapest magazine of its kind in the 

 world. 



A new edition — the 18th — of L. H. Bailey's "Pruning 

 Manual" has recently appeared. This latest edition has 

 been revised and reset and therefore brings the practice of 

 pruning up to date. It is probably safe to say that the more 

 ignorant the man the less essential do proper methods of 

 pruning seem to be. The old maxims "Prune when the 

 knife is sharp" and "Any day but Sunday" are still good 

 enough for him. Much progress in the art of pruning has 

 been made since the first edition of the "Pruning Manual" 

 was- issued. There are some kinds of plants that need no 

 trimming at all ; others must be pruned in spring and still 

 others in autumn. One must know how, to be successful. 

 The reviewer knows of one public, park whose spring show 

 of flowers was ruined for several years by an ignorant 

 gardener whose sole idea in pruning was to produce what 

 Bailey calls "tailored" bushes and trees. In practically all 

 books on gardening, the fundamentals of pruning are dis- 

 cussed, but the "Pruning Manual" is so encyclopedic that 

 it can scarcely be omitted from the library of one who 

 would be fully informed on the subject. The new edition 

 contains more than 400 pages and nearly as many illustra- 

 tions. It is published by the Macmillan Company, New 

 York, at $2.00. 



"From earliest childhood the forest is a place of interest 

 It is first known as the mysterious haunt of some good fairy 

 or good elf. Then it becomes a playground for youth; the 



