BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, ETC. 159 



Hawaii Nei 128 Years Ago is the title given by Mr. W. F. 

 Wilson, of Honolulu— its editor, — to the ]Jortion of the Journal of 

 Archibald Menzies (1754-1842), kept during Vancouver's Voyage 

 on the ' Discovery,' which relates to his three visits to the Sandwich 

 Islands (1792-4). The Journal itself is in the Library of the 

 British Museum (Addl. MS. 32G41), and, although the account of the 

 ascent of Hualalai, which forms its most interesting portion, has been 

 published more than once, the full account of the three visits is now 

 printed for the first time. This contains many interesting observa- 

 tions in regard to the leading Hawaiian kings and chiefs, and about 

 the primitive manners and customs of the natives, which we agree 

 with Mr. Wilson in thinking well worthy of publication. The editor 

 has done his work exceedingly w^ell. He has prefixed to the Journal an 

 excellent biography of Menzies, with a reproduction of the crayon por- 

 trait by Eddis preserved at Kew ; there are a number of illustrations 

 of the vegetation and of topographical features, taken from original 

 photographs, w^th reproductions of portraits from old engravings, 

 including one of Kamehameha, King of Hawaii, taken in 1817 : cross- 

 headings and useful footnotes have been added, and there is an 

 excellent index : the diary itself makes interesting reading. We find 

 no indication of price or of publisher's name, but copies can doubtless 

 be obtained from Mr. Wilson. 



More than sixty years ago, the Religious Tract Society published 

 a little shilling book by Anne Pratt (who died in 1893 at the age 

 of 87) entitled Wild Flowers of the Year; and the same Society has 

 now once more reissued the work in more ambitious guise as a six 

 shilling volume. It is no small testimony to the accurac}^ of the 

 author, to whom so many have in their early days been indebted, 

 that it should be possible to issue the little book practically un- 

 changed ; the style, with its frequent references to religion, seems 

 curiously out of harmony with the present-day attitude, but the 

 botanical portion is as useful now as it was when it first appeared. 

 The present edition is illustrated by numerous coloured plates of 

 German origin, which have we think done duty at least once before 

 in a similar capacity ; these include plants that are neither British 

 nor referred to in the text, and were "selected, described in an 

 appendix, and indexed by the Rev. Professor George HensloAV." 



Messes. Holden and Hardingham send us Everyhodifs Boole of 

 Garden Annuals {Is. n.), by Mr. Hazlehurst Greaves, F.L.S., which 

 they have recently published. It contains cultural directions and an 

 alphabetical list of the plants recommended with descriptive notes 

 on the more attractive varieties — we doubt whether the Cornflower 

 known as " Emperor William " is likely to be "much sought after " 

 at present ! Many of the names are misspelt or have misplaced 

 capitals ; the " illustrations by the author " are about the worst we 

 have ever seen, and disfigure rather than embellish the little book. 



The fifth part of the Joinnial of the Botanical Society of Sonth 

 Africa (1919, but only just to hand) contains a paper on " Our 

 Aloes " by Dr. I. B. ' Pole-Evans and " Notes on Kirstenbosch 

 Leguminosce,'" in which, short as it is, three ladies have cooperated. 

 The Journal, which is edited by Mr. R. H. Compton, Director of the 



