NOTICES OF BOOKS. 893 



years in course of publication in the Journal of the Asiatic Societij 

 of BetKjaL under the title, ''Materials for a Flora of the Malay 

 Peninsula," and in the Journal of the Straits Settlements, in the 

 form of complete accounts of various monocotyledonous families by 

 Mr. H. N. Ridley. 



Dr. Cooke's appearance as the pioneer of this enterprise must 

 be hailed with satisfaction by everybody interested in the spread of 

 botanical knowledge amongst our Indian fellow-subjects ; but it is 

 sincerely to be hoped that the scheme thus inaugurated may be 

 carried through to the end at the high level of excellence at which 

 it has now been begun. In this first part of Dr. Cooke's book the 

 natural orders from Ranuncidaceai to Ilutaceoi are dealt with, the 

 sequence followed being that of Hooker's Flora. The part contains 

 192 pages, and gives descriptions of 335 indigenous species, and of 

 a few introduced plants which nave become naturalized. Of these 

 species, no fewer than 130 are absent from Dalzell's census of the 

 corresponding orders made in 1861 — a signal proof of how much 

 has been done in the way of exploration during the last forty years. 

 Dr. Cooke's descriptions are in the form of those of Bentham in his 

 Floras of Australia and Hong-Kong ; and in crispness and graphic 

 force they remind one of those in that excellent but too much for- 

 gotten work, Wight and Arnott's Prodromus Fhrm PeninsuUc Indicce. 

 Excellent generic and specific keys are supplied, and the date of the 

 original publication of each specific name is given immediately 

 after the name of its author. 



In a Flora which is primarily intended for use by persons who 

 are not botanical experts, full citations of synonyms (some of which 

 are often doubtful) are a waste of time and space, and Dr. Cooke has 

 exercised a commendable discretion in keeping his references within 

 comparatively narrow limits. Sir Joseph Hooker's Flora is quoted as 

 a matter of course, and so are the catalogues of Graham, Gibson, 

 Talbot, and Woodrow, and also the Flora of Dalzell and Gibson ; but 

 old books, such as Rheede's Hortus ]\lalabaricus, are not quoted. 

 Vernacular names are given when such are current. Brief notes of 

 economic uses are supplied, and Dr. Watts's Bictionary of Economic 

 Products is invariably quoted. In the case of the less widely dis- 

 tributed species, localities are nearly always given. The book is 

 really a model of good systematic work. It is well printed, and 

 its pages are disfigured by very few typographical errors. When it 

 shall have been completed, a great impetus and encouragement 

 may, it is hoped, be given to the cultivation of botanical knowledge 

 by all those whose duties or inclinations lead them into the fields 

 or forests of the senior Presidency of India. ^ j^ 



La Botanica in Italia. Materiali per la Storia di questa scienza 



raccoltidaP. A. Saccardo. Parte seconda. Venezia: C. Ferrari, 



1901. 4to, pp. XV, 172. 



Six years ago (Journ. Bot. 1896, 188) we noticed the first 



instalment of the work of which a second part now comes to hand. 



We gave then some account of the plan and general scope of the 



work, and expressed a high opinion of its value. That opinion is 



