848 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



cyclopediac work entitled Handbook of Plants and General Horticulture appeared, 

 but the present work is the first and only publication to treat exhaustively of Amer- 

 ican horticulture in its entirety as it exists to-day. The matter included in the work 

 deals with the culture of fruits, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables; with all plant species 

 known to be in the horticultural trade in North America or that are mentioned 

 prominently in horticultural writings of other countries; with the possibilities 

 of horticulture in the different States, Territories, and provinces; and gives the 

 bio<'raphies of men who have contributed most to the horticultural development of 

 North America. All general subjects related to horticulture, like insects, spraying, 

 landscape gardening, manures, soils, etc., are also treated. All the plant species 

 cultivated horticulturally in this country, from Alaska to Florida, are comi)ared, con- 

 trasted, and described; and whenever the genera consist of several species they have 

 been classified and keys given. Brief notes are also given on the more important 

 farm crops and such economic plants as cinchona and India rubber. Forage and 

 medicinal plants are noted only incidentally. Special attention has been paid to 

 tropical fruits and vegetables. The word horticulture has been interpreted broadly. 



All prominent subjects in the cyclopedia have been written u}) from different 

 standpoints, usualh' 2 or more authors contributing who represent different sections 

 of the country and different climatic and cultural conditions. These articles are 

 signed by the authors, thus giving credit and fixing responsibility. More than 450 

 persons, including the more prominent botanists, horticulturists, and specialists in 

 the country have contributed to the cyclopedia. There are 4,357 separate articles, 

 and 2,255 genera are described, including 8,793 species. The total number of plant 

 names accounted for is 24,434. The articles are fresh. They are written from the 

 standpoint of the growing plants. In general, the broader spirit of the outdoor com- 

 mercial plant culture, which is tlie dominating characteristic of American horticul- 

 ture, has l)een clearly presented. References to the prominent literature on the 

 different subjects are cited freely. A cut is seen wherever the book is opened; most 

 of these are new. 



The cyclopedia marks an epoch in the horticultural literature of this countrj'. The 

 author hopes it may never be revised but he supplemented with annual volumes of 

 the same size pages as the cyclopedia, which will record the progress made each year. 

 These volumes are promised if there is sufficient demand for them. The manuscript 

 for the first 2 is already prepared. 



In the making of this cyclopedia the author has had associated with him Dr. AVil- 

 helm Miller, who has had particular charge of indexes, trade lists, })ililiographical 

 matter, and the editing of manuscripts. 



Gardening for the South, or how to grow fruits and vegetables, W. N. 

 White, revised by P. H. Mell {Richmond: B. F. Johnson, 1901, j'P- 683, pis. 20, figs. 

 280). — This is a revised and eqlarged edition of tliis work on Southern gardening, 

 which was first issued in 1856. The second edition was issued in 1868. This makes 

 the third edition. It purports to take into account the changes and development 

 along horticultural lines during the last 30 years, bringing the work u]) to present 

 ideas and methods. Recommendations of the exjieriment stations and the results 

 secured in experiment-station work are seen throughout the book. In its revised 

 form it will undoubtedly take a prominent place in the literature of Southern 

 gardening. 



Some portions of the work might profitably have been revised more thoroughly. 

 The statements allowed to stand that squashes, melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins 

 readily cross and contaminate each other when planted together, when considered 

 in the light of the crossing experiments made with cucurbits at the New York Cor- 

 nell, Iowa, and Nebraska experiment stations (E. S. R., 2, p. 509; 4, p. 726; 12, p. 

 449), need modification. The old exaggerated idea of the value of common salt as a 

 fertilizer for different vegetables and fruits is frequently seen throughout the work, as 



