230 REVIEWS OF BOOKS. [Jax. 



Progress Report of Forest Administrcdion in the Pmijahfor 1883-84. 

 By B. EiBBENTEOP, Esquire, Conservator of Forests. With a 

 Eeview by the Lieutenant-Governor, and (_)i;dees by the 

 Government of India. 1884. 



" Peesonally Sir Cliarles Aitchison is of opinion that considerable 

 reform is demanded in tlie matter of the bulky annual reports 

 wliich are at present required of the heads of departments and other 

 officers." Brave and ominous words to preface this new green book 

 of the Indian Forest Survey. This report, notwithstanding, is an 

 exceptionally good one. The area of forest under conservancy 

 amounts to 1398 square miles. The area of reserved forests has 

 been increased by 170 square miles added in the Jhelum and 

 Bashahr divisions. The conservator has given much attention to 

 questions of natural reproduction, cultural operations, and forest 

 improvements. With care the carob tree and many of the species 

 f Eucalyptus can be successfully cultivated in the Lahore plains. 

 Some seeds of the Eucalyptus viminalis were procured and sown, 

 but it is too early to speak of results. Steps seem to be at work 

 to create a staff of iipper native subordinates trained at the Indian 

 Forest School, but under the superior staff trained at the English 

 Forest School, the Eubicon between the two branches being very 

 rarely passed. 



o 



Origi7i of CuUimfed Plants. By Alphoxse de Candolle (The 

 International Scientific Series). London : Kegan Paul, Trench, 

 & Co., 1884. 



If the forester wishes to know all about the history of many of the 

 trees in his orchard, of his garden vegetables, or of the herbs that 

 go so far to make up his breakfast-table, let him procure this book. 

 It is really a new and valuable contribution to l)otanical literature, 

 though founded on the great work of plant geography published by 

 the same author more than thirty years ago, now out of print. It 

 shoidd give a new impetus to this fascinating line of inquiry, very 

 mr;ch in the way of woodmen's daily walks. Out of a total of 

 about 140,000 known vegetable species, rather less than 300 

 kinds are economically cultivated. The author investigates the 

 history of 247 of these: 193 species are now known to occur 

 wild, 27 are doubtful or half wild, and 27 are not found wild. 

 But a whole page of queries come out of these statistics. The 

 intelligent reader will find topics for many winter nights' discussions 

 in this volume. 



