216 



G.iRDEM.liS' (:ilK<)!\ICl.h: 



strict adherence to the rules of nomenclature adoi>tctl by the In- 

 ternational Congress of Botanists. Carefulness in tlie use of 

 common or popular names is inculcatetl by omiltins from the 

 Index such hybrid terms as '"Concolor Fir;" hut "White b'ir" 

 and ilbifs concolor are listed. 



As a result of the few changes in classitication and the ad- 

 dition of four families and sixteen genera this new edition con- 

 tains an account of seven hundred and seventeen species of trees 

 in one hundred and eighty-five genera. They are illustrated by 

 seven hundred and eighty-three drawn figures, which, as really 

 good drawings made by experts can do, show more clearly than 

 can reproductions of photographs the details of form, structure 

 and functioning parts. They reveal, as do other evidences of hard 

 work, the felicity with which Professor Sargent has attached to 

 himself capable and devoted helpers. 



The book has of course not been intended primarily for the 

 nurseryman or the landscape designer. But a careful use of it 

 by them would often be well rewarded. Exotic trees, with the 

 exception of the few that have become naturalized as "escapes" 

 and such important "introduced" trees as the White Mulberry 

 and the Black Mullierry, are not given place. Distinct species of 

 great importance to the nurseryman, like the Bcchtel Crab and 

 the so-called Bartram Oak are given appropriate mention; while 

 sporting forms like Teas' Weeping Mulberry and the Weeping 

 Hemlock and cultivated seminal varieties of the Hemlock, as 

 well as sports in coloring like Roster's Blue Spruce are not given 

 space ; but the author has seen fit to refer to Dogwoods with 

 rose-colored or pink involucres which have come to be admitted 

 as now constituting a variety by themselves, and to two other 

 varieties, pcndiila and xaiUhocarpa. The planter of trees is told 

 of the important difference between the northern form and tlie 

 southern form of Magiwliu glaiica and between Aiiwlanchicr cana- 

 densis and A. hcvis, the latter being the more desirable of tlie 

 two Service Berries. The European planter is informed that the 

 Red Oak is generally more successful in his continent. Much 

 other information has been barred by limitations of space, evi- 

 dently much against the author's will, lie has contented himself 

 with calling attention only in the most prominent instances, with- 

 out the extravagance of the catalogs, to especial beauty. He does 

 give the origin of the name where that helps to know l«;tter the 

 subject, as it often docs. The commercial uses of the various 

 genera and species are wisely set forth, succinctly but thoroughly, 

 as is notable, exemplified by the eight lines treatin.g of this to[iic 

 under Tilia. Minor matters that might be missed by the inquirer 

 for information in making use of certain trees for planting, such 

 as the unwisdom of placing a Soft Maple or a Bo.x Elder into a 

 certain site, have had to be left to books of landscape .gardening. 



l)Ut the book is almost incomprehcnsively complete and thorough. 

 Perhaps the mo.st wonderful part of it consists of the one hun- 

 dred and fifty-two very compact pages describing, with exact 

 botanical detail, one hun<lred and lifty-three species of Cratagus 

 each illustrated by an exquisitely nice drawing. In fact, in treating 

 of silvan growth native to the wide lield covered nothing seems 

 to have eluded notice: ^fagiinlia acKiiiinnta var. Sarg.. for example, 

 is noted as "having been preserved in gardens for more than a 

 century and not re-discovered as a wild plant until 1913." To 

 emphasize the accuracy of the work as a whole the present 

 writer would modestly add that he has happened upon only one 

 misprint, and that a trifling one, in the Index, "Oak, Mossy Cap," 

 obviously intended for "Oak, Mossy Cup." — 1". I'>. -M. 



G.\RDF.NING With Br.mns by Henry T. Finck, Harjier an<l ISru- 

 thcrs. New York. 



In both form and content this volume is the strongly character- 

 istic issue of the mind and personality of the man who for fortv 

 years has been on the staff of the New York E'rcniiig Post a>^ 

 ".Musical and Epicurean Editor" and has published a book named 

 l-'ood (Did I-Uivor. It is the resultant of a very lively inixture of 

 almost rollicking humor, uniquely keen powers of mental and 

 physical enjoyment, intimate friendship w-ith such persons a> 

 Luther Hurbank, John Burroughs. lulith Simouds and well-known 

 and originating seedmen and horticulturists, — all persons through 

 whoM- arteries pulsates intense love of Xature, — and experience 

 in gardening in one of the least favored regions of the country. 

 Northern Maine. .So it was sf'irit as well as with brains 

 that were written these entertaining pages that treat of seeds 

 and tillage, of the most savory vegetables and the im|Kirtance 

 of their rapid transit to the table, of what are the flowers must 

 worth while and how to rescue them and the vegetables and the 

 fruits frf)m their enemies, of what are the most luscious and 

 most wholesome fruits already available and of what may be 

 hoped f(ir in the way of obtaining fruits still more luscious and 

 wholesome. 



It is in this last phase of the general subject that the most 

 ardent iiiKrest is shown. Green manuring and intensive cultivation 

 have full appreciation, the "fragrant sniil of fltjwers" is descanlid 

 upon most elo(|uently and a slight attem])t is made to show- re- 

 snect for creative design and pictorial beauty in the garden, — not 

 altogether successful, to be sure, for the author's taste in this 

 matter is a trifle bizarre, as is witnessed by his fondness for "rain- 



bow corn" and blue poppies, lint for Lutlur liurbank his eii- 

 llinsiasm is so great as to make one ahiiosl believe that this 

 "plant wizard's" work is nearly as great, if not quite as great, 

 as it is made to appear in his own books and in the many 

 eulngistic books that other per.sons have written about him. The 

 chapters, The Joys of Creative (jardening, l-.ducated Strawberries 

 and Burbank I'liims, and Commercial Value of lUirbaiik's New 

 Creations, are powerful. They defend with a convincing array of 

 facts and with reasoning, all set forth feelingly, in the conclusion 

 of this verv entertaining, instructive and handsomelv made book. — 

 I'. B. M. ■ 



Opportunities Out-of-Door.s, by Edward Owen Dean. Harper 

 and Brothers, New York. 



This is one of a series of little books that seem to be all worth 

 while. Others are Opportunities in Engineering, Opportunities in 

 .Vviation, Opportunities in l'"arming. This particular voluine con- 

 siders oppcjrtunities in Construction, in Forestry, in the Lumber 

 Industry, in Tree Surgery, in Rural Motor Express, in Collecting 

 and (irowiiig Medicinal Plants and in Landscape (jardening. It 

 it accordingly a work that should be of interest to many readers 

 <if this periodical and should be of help to all persons, old and 

 yiiung, ill interpreting that call that to tlie dwellers in cities often 

 liecoines very, very strong. It is written from the conviction 

 that "one ot the saddest sights in life is that of a man in the 

 wrong job." But it abounds in cautions; all prases of the pro- 

 fessions treated were lirst carefully discussed by the author with 

 men actively en.gaged in those respective callings. The natural 

 aptitudes and the requirements for success are stated no less 

 frankly and with no less seriousness than are the attractions. — F. 

 I!. M. 



liiLB Gakliening, by Mary Hampden. Charles Scribner's Sons, 

 New York. 



This is a brave and spirited attempt to treat a very brief sub- 

 ject succinctly and yet comprehensively; bulbs for growing in- 

 doors as well as the hardy ones are included. Conseciueiitly the 

 discussions of most topics is necessarily rather sketchy; but it is 

 skilful. For a brief treatment the chapters given to Hyacinths, 

 Tulips, Daffodils and otlier Narcissi are quite satisfactory. Un- 

 der Irises the author does well to include in this work the 

 rhizomatous and the fibrous-rooted also ; it is to be regretted, 

 hiiwe\er, in view of the great widenin.g of the class of Iris gcr- 

 iiiaiiica, that she puts this species among those that are suitable 

 for damp soil beneath trees. Concerniii,g_ them the book gives 

 only a bare intimation of their remarkalile developments made 

 dm ing the past few years. As to their culture is it not poor advice 

 In state that "three inches deep is a good average" and that "in 

 very light sandy borders a greater depth is often desirable"? 

 This is apt, even in sandy soils, to cause rot at the base of the 

 leaves, as certainty would "a layer of old cow manure in October." 



The chapter on Snowdrops, Crocuses and Chionodoxas is a 

 fine one and makes more poignant the chagrin felt by .\nierican 

 gardeners in not being permitted to import the lirst and the last of 

 these delightful diminutive llowers. The section devoted to 

 Lilies is the most nearly complete and most satisfactory of the 

 entire book. It touches upon the wild European corn flag, or 

 lihidioliis coiiununis, and contains the all too brief mention of 

 the Hemcrocallis. Its one deficiency lies in not distinguishing 

 those lilies that form roots above the bulb from those that feed 

 below the bulb only. A valuable service has been done by put- 

 ting into systematic and compact form an appreciation of the 

 many minor bulbous flowers, such as the anemones, fritillaries, 

 ranunculuses, alliums, ornitliogalums, meadow satforns, cyclamens 

 and Christmas roses. Likewise deserving of thankful appreciation 

 are Part II, which is a summary Ireatnieiit of the multifarious 

 glass-house bulbs, and Part 111, w-hich enumerates,' with the 

 most necessary directions for their cultivation, the half-hardy 

 bulbs, such as the tuberous Begonia, the Gladiolus and the Dahlia, 

 iii;t to mention more than a score of others. 



Considering the wide range covered one must recognize that 

 llie author has been wonderfully attentive to this interesting 

 class of flowering plants which, though very |Kt|iular. is not 

 yet generally made use of as it ought to be, fen- in addition to 

 lieing so diversilied in beauty it is true, as an old book on garden- 

 ing tells, that "in a sense bulbs are of more easy culture than 

 ;uiy other class of plant, as, the germ being previously formed, and 

 the nourishment provided in the body of the bulb, it is only neces- 

 sary to supply heat and moisture to cause these to develop." — 

 I". B. M. 



IIIIIIIIIM>IIIIIIIII> 



GARDENER'S CHRONICLE 



The Standby of the Professional 

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If .vou ,-irf not a sulfstrilit-r. sciul twn (l(»Il.iis fi>r ,t yc.ir*s 

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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 

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