124 LA TRUFFE. 



and one inaccurate reference* comprise the acknowledgment which 

 Mr. Dyer thinks adequate under these circumstances ; throughout his 

 book I only note four or five more, although the compiler is largely 

 indebted to us for other of his chapters. This is a strong protest : 

 but it will not be found a whit too strong by those who will 

 compare Mr. Dyer's Chapter on "Children's Rhymes" with the 

 'Dictionary of English Plant-names.' A further examination of 

 the book reveals many instances of this mode of treatment. 



There is one way, and one only, in which a valuable book 

 of plant folklore can be written, and that is on the lines adopted 

 in France for Zoology by M. Eolland. It should be of the nature 

 of a dictionary : under each plant should be entered all the rhymes, 

 superstitions, and traditions respecting it, with the authority for 

 each. The Sagas and the Eddas and the Vedas should be ignored ; 

 vague statements, unverified quotations, and "old writers " should 

 be tabooed ; the work should be confined to British and common 

 garden plants. The result would not be a readable and popular 

 work, and it would attract but few readers ; but it would be of per- 

 manent value to the student of comparative folklore and mythology, 

 and (which is a doubtful boon) it would be an almost inexhaustible 

 quarry for the Mr. Dyers of the future. Such a work Mr. Holland 

 and myself have long hoped to prepare for the Folklore Society ; 

 nor, although the years glide away, each more rapidly than the last, 

 and each brings with it more than enough of occupation, have we 

 yet entirely abandoned the hope. James Beitten. 



La Truffe. Par le Dr. C. de Ferry de la Bellone. Paris : 

 Bailliere et Fils. 1888. 3//-. 50 c. 



Tms volume of the * Bibliotheque Scientifique Contemporaine ' 

 resembles the others in being well and properly written, nicely 

 printed, in handy form, and well illustrated. The author deals 

 with "truffles" in the wide sense of the term, and gives a clear 

 account of their structure, and the modes of distinguishing the 

 various sorts, without attempting any severe scientific discussion of 

 the subject. He treats the commercial aspect of it in a very 

 interesting fashion, dealing with the forest and other laws relating 

 to truffles in France. The most valuable part of the book is, 

 perhaps, the exhaustive accounts of the habitats of truffles, and 

 the map showing their distribution in France. The frontispiece is 

 a very charming sketch, by M. Paul Vayson, of truffle-hunting with 

 pigs — a form of sport or industry which can hardly be very charming 

 to the pig. G. M. 



* At p. 241, where Mr. Dyer says that we " suggest " that ' Davie-drap ' = 

 Luzula campestris, "which so often figures in children's games and rhymes." 

 We don't " suggest," — we say " this is no doubt Luzula campestris, which often 

 figures in childxen's games and rhymes." The coincidence in expression will 

 be noted. 



