490 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



It is unfortunate that a book which ought to be in the hands of every 

 student of agriculture or botany should not be accessible at a lower figure, 

 and for this reason it is perhaps to be regretted that the plates, admirable 

 of their kind though they are, were included in the present edition. 



E. J.S. 



The Introduction to the Flora of Natal and Zululand. By Prof. J. W. 

 Bews, M.A., D.Sc. [Pp. vi + 348.] (City Printing Works, Pieter- 

 maritzburg. Price 15s. net.) 



Although termed a Flora, this is essentially a field handbook, not the least 

 merit of which is its small size and thin paper, which render it convenient for 

 the pocket and light for transit. 



Doubtless for this reason no attempt has been made in the present state 

 of our knowledge to give diagnostic characters for the 3,786 species dealt 

 with, though one may perhaps look forward to the time when this may be 

 possible on the lines of the British Botanist's Pocket-book ! 



Keys are furnished to the Families and Genera, of which latter there are 

 over nine hundred. Under every genus all the species are listed, and for each 

 of these notes are added respecting the normal habitat and not infrequently 

 an indication as to frequency and the Zulu name. 



The whole forms a useful manual which should prove of value both in 

 the field and herbarium. 



E. J. S. 



The Garden of Earth. By Agnes Giberne. [Pp. xiv + 178, with coloured 



frontispiece and 47 illustrations.] (London ; Society for Promoting ^ 

 Christian Knowledge. Price 6s. 6d. net.) aj 



This is a popular account of some aspects of plant life intended for young 

 people. 



Information is conveyed in a pleasant style, but it is to be regretted that 

 the text is not entirely free from the all too common error, in books written 

 for the young, of carelessness in detail. 



There is no justification, either for the sake of brevity or simplicity, for 

 the inculcation of ideas which will subsequently have to be unlearnt. Ex- 

 amples are furnished by the statement (p. 31) that Diatoms probably move 

 by means of cilia, or the inference which a child would naturally draw from 

 a sentence on p. 54, that all plants with hypogenous stamens have unwhole- 

 some fruits. 



The use of familiar terms for unfamiliar processes is only advisable where 

 they are free from misconception. On these grounds exception must be taken 

 to the use of the term "digestion " for carbon-dioxide assimilation, or the phrase 

 " brain of the plant " in relation to the sense response of the root system. 



On the other hand, we would commend the attention which is focused 

 upon phenomena which from their very familiarity are apt to be considered 

 lightly. 



E. J. S. 



ZOOLOGY 



British Mammals. Written and illustrated by A. Thorburn, F.Z.S. Vol. I. 

 [Pp. 84, with 25 plates in colour and pen-and-ink sketches in the text.] 

 (London : Longmans, Green & Co. Price (two volumes) ;;^io 105.) 



British Mammals forms a companion work to Mr. Thorburn's well-known 

 British Birds and A Naturalist's Sketch Book. It is to be completed in two 

 volumes, not procurable separately, the first of which has reached us. The 

 plates, as beautifully reproduced as their predecessors, are accompanied as 



