1S2 THE JOURXAL OF liOTANY 



Roses: their History, Development and Cultivation. By the 

 Rev. Joseph H. Pemberton, Vice-President of the National 

 Kose Society. Longmans, Green & Co. Price 15s. 



Most books that have been written on roses of late 3^ears have 

 dealt with them in a more or less popular vein, ignoring anything in 

 the shape of botany or science. This of course is natural, as those 

 who wish to grow roses for the decoration of the garden or the green- 

 house, or for display on the exhibition table, are helped very little by 

 the study of botanical details. In the work before us, however, the 

 author has been bold enough to deal with the botany of the Rose 

 as a preliminary to cultivation and propagation, and its treatment for 

 exhibition purposes. This lias evident^ been no drawback to the 

 popularity of the work, which has now reached a second edition, and 

 may therefore be said to justify Mr. Pemberton's methods. Tlie 

 system of classiiication adopted has been that of Crepin, who divided 

 Rosa into sixteen different sections, according to the peculiarities of 

 the wood, prickles, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Thus we have a great 

 range between the Rose having one simple leaf as in R. herheridifolia 

 and others which have 3, 5, 7, 9 and more leaflets. In the matter 

 of prickles also, there is a vast diiference between the almost 

 ''spineless" Banksian Rose and the ''Hedgehog" or Ramanas Rose 

 of Japan {R. riigosa), not only in regard to numbers, but also 

 strength, length, and ferocity. From the various groups, the author 

 shows the reputed parentage of the various types of the modern 

 garden roses, and this is a matter that nearly interests the real lover 

 of roses. Once he has fallen a victim to the " Queen of Flowers " 

 he not only wants to grow it as well as he can, but he also desires to 

 know how such wonderful shades of colour and delicacy of scent have 

 been evolved. Mr. Pemberton's book will enlighten him on all these 

 points, and by the time he has made a careful study of its 334 pages, 

 he will feel that the knowledge was worth acquiring. Although we 

 have em})hasized the botanical side^of the work, it is only fair to add 

 that quite two-thirds of the volume is devoted to the cultivation and 

 propagation, pruning, training, and exhibiting of the Rose. 



J, Weathers. 



BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, etc. 



In a note in the Royal Army 3fedical Corps Jov7'nal for April 

 Oapt. M. E. MacGregor writes on " The possible Use of Azolla 

 Jidicidoides as a Deterrent to Anoplieline breeding." In a series of 

 investigations carried out by the staff of the Entomological Labora- 

 tory at Sandwich on the association of Anoplieles larvse and various 

 water plants, it was found that Azolla Jill culoides placed in a breed- 

 ing tank rajDidly spread, and no ova were deposited in the tank. 

 Apparently the female anopheline mosquito must have an open water 

 surface on which to lay her eggs, though this does not appear to be 

 so with other mosquitos such as Stegomyia fascAata. It would 

 certainlv be a very easy way of reducing the numbers of A)wpheles, 

 and cousequ >ntly the incidence of malaria, if this method of covering 



