NOTICES OF BOOKS. 69 



has certainly produced a volume which is likely to be useful, seeing 

 how inexhaustible is the demand for works on this popular class 

 of plants. 



A handsome and important addition to our books on the folk- 

 lore of plants is issued by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co., under the 

 title of ' Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics,' by Eichard Folkard, jun. 

 The work shows very great care and industry ; Mr. Folkard has 

 appreciated at their true value the stores of information to be 

 found in our old herbals ; and his quotations from them are varied 

 and judicious, and somewhat out of the ordinary run. His frontis- 

 piece is a good representation of that of Parkinson's ' Paradisi in 

 Sole,' and the other illustrations are quaint and appropriate. The 

 book is divided into two parts ; the first arranged in chapters 

 dealmg with different branches of the subject, as " The World-trees 

 of the Ancients," " The Trees of Paradise and the Tree of Adam," 

 and so on ; the second being " An Encyclopaedia of Six Hundred 

 Plants, English and Foreign, giving their Myths, Legends, 

 Traditions, Folklore, Symbolism, and History." In this latter 

 half much use, duly acknowledged, has been made of De Gubernatis' 

 ' La Mythologie des Plantes.' 



We have referred to the serial issue of ' The Illustrated Dictionary 

 of Gardening' (L. Upcott Gill), the first volume (A — E) of which 

 is now before us, bearing Mr. George Nicholson's name on its title- 

 page. This would be a guarantee of the satisfactory quality of the 

 work, so far as the letterpress is concerned ; the engravings, too, 

 are for the most part good, but are clearly collected from very 

 various sources. There seems a certain want of proportion not 

 only in the size of these, but in regard to their practical utility ; 

 for example, pp. 434-438 are mainly occupied by figures of varieties 

 of single Dahlia. The references to published figures form a useful 

 feature, but we regret that the abbreviations adopted are such as to 

 necessitate constant reference to the table of explanations. We 

 would venture to say that no one would offhand imagine that 

 " W. 0. A." stood for "Warner and Williams' Orchid Album," or 

 that "B" represented Maund's ' Botanist.' 



Das hotanische Practicum ; von Eduard Strasburger (Jena, Gustav 

 Fischer, 1884. 



Das kleine botanishe Practicum fur An/anger; von Eduard Stras- 

 burger (Jena, Gustav Fischer, 1884). 



In these two books Prof. Strasburger has suj^plied a very 

 urgent want. So many researches have been spoilt through 

 ignorance of proper methods in carrying them out, that instruction 

 on the subject must be a welcome contribution to literature. In 

 the former and larger of these two books, the course of practical 

 work is designed for advanced students especially, tbough the 

 sections in large type were originally intended to serve as ele- 

 mentary lessons, while the details accompanying these in smaller 

 type were for the use of those Avho proceed farther. Thougli such 

 an arrangement has many advantages, it is obvious that there is 

 much to be said against it, and the author has at once answered 



