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THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



American Wight, though for this purpose 

 my gardener generally uses a lather of 

 softsoap, which completely clears the 

 trees of this deadly insect. — A. C. B. 

 Various. — Honor. — Tou may allow your 

 vines to bear a dozen (or less) bunches 

 this year. Shorten the rods back to 

 plump buds on hard wood. Your manage- 

 ment has been admirable, and you 

 appear to be well started for grape 

 growing. — Subscriber, Nantwich. — Six 

 roses for south wall : Cloth of Gold, La- 

 marque, Gloire de Dijon, Celine Fores- 

 tier, Solfaterre, Souvenir d'un Ami. — 

 W. Crane. — We do not know of one 

 good book on the subject you inquire 

 about. — An old Subscriber. — It is late 

 in the day to ask our opinion on Manetti 



and Celine stocks, for we have written 

 almost too much about them. As an 

 old subscriber you ought to be familiar 

 with every point of interest about the 

 buying and growing of roses, and we 

 are compelled to suppose that though a 

 subscriber you are not a very attentive 

 reader of the Floral World. This is 

 not written in an unkind spirit, but we 

 are compelled to say so much because if 

 we really go into the questions raised 

 by your letter, we must repeat nearly 

 all that has been said about roses during 

 the seven years publication of the 

 Floral World. If your letters were 

 reproduced in full in these pages, the 

 house you name would suffer nothing 

 by the complaints you make. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Clirical Elocution; a Practical and 

 Original System of Delivery. By C. W. 

 Smith. — London : Simpkin, Marshall & 

 Co. This professes to be a practical book, 

 and we have looked through it with some 

 care, and find that we can heartily recom- 

 mend it to the consideration of all who 

 are ambitious of exellence in public speak- 

 ing. Mr. Smith has had much experience 

 as a teacher, and to his credit he has nei- 

 ther made this volume a mere advertise- 

 ment, nor has he withheld from the reader 

 any advices which may tend to assist him 

 in independence of personal instruction. 

 We are compelled to notice these two fea- 

 tures, not because we would praise an 

 author for being honest, but because it is 

 too much the fashion for books of such kinds 

 to be used as baits for catching pupils. 

 Elocution is seldom studied by those whose 

 office it is to give oral instruction, and this 

 admirable work may do something towards 

 securing a proper recognition of the art 

 amongst those who are supposed to be anx- 

 ious to combine grace with power and me- 

 thod with originality in public speaking. 



The Temple Anecdotes. Vol. I. By 

 Ralph and Chandos Temple. Groom- 

 bridge & Sons. — This is one of the best of 

 the Christmas books, though not prepared 

 with any view to suit a particular season, 

 for anecdotes are suitable for all seasons. 

 The anecdotes in this volume are all illus- 

 trative of inventions and discoveries, and 

 the selection has been made with judg- 

 ment and taste. It is a delightful volume, 

 to take up and put down, to read again and 

 again ; sure to amuse, never to weary, 

 and likely sometimes to stimulate to noble 

 endeavours, and encourage worthy aspira- 



tions. The authors thoroughly understand 

 their task, and it is no small praise to say 

 that they can tell a simple story in a sim- 

 ple way, and point its moral with effect. 

 The work is beautifully printed and ably 

 illustrated, and deserves a place en every 

 library and drawing-room table throughout 

 the land. The Temples follow in the wake 

 of the Percys, and with as bright a light 

 to show forth the mysteries of nature, and 

 the manifold workings of human curiosity, 

 ambition, and self-sacrifice. 



A Bunch of Keys, ichere They tcere 

 Found, and What They might have Un- 

 locked. Edited by Thomas Hood. Groom - 

 bridge & Sons. — Much has been expected of 

 Thomas Hood, promising son of the most 

 original, exuberant, and genial wits of 

 modern times. Hitherto Mr. Hood's per- 

 formances have justified rather than satis- 

 fied the public expectation. Now we be- 

 lieve Mr. Hood's time has come, and we 

 may say that talent descends in the male 

 line, and there is one more instance added 

 to the many that have been collected by 

 the curious. This is a glorious volume, 

 containing six capital stories by six several 

 writers ; one of them, " The Key of the 

 Nursery Cupboard," by Mr. Hood, as sure 

 to become famous among the gems of mo- 

 dern fiction, as that the volume itself will 

 be literally devoured, and do more good 

 than all the turkeys, pigs, puddings, and 

 cakes that are now on their way to that 

 bourne from which perhaps (and alas !) 

 some of them will return. Those who 

 have any affection for us will please order 

 of their booksellers the " Bunch of Keys," 

 and place it first in the list of books in- 

 tended for New Year's gifts. 



