THE BEST FORAGE PLANTS FULLY DESCRIBED AND FIGURED. 317 



*• English names," as too often happens, have no claim to that 

 title, and there is some inconsistency in their formation, — some, 

 such as <' Heliosperm," "Helminth," " Trigonel," and the like, 

 being constructed on the Benthamian principle ; others, more 

 wisely, being unaltered from the Latin. These are, however, small 

 matters ; and it is the strongest testimony to the value of the book, 

 that it is only in small matters that there is room for criticism. 



James Britten, 



The Best Forage Plants fully described and figured. By Dr. F. G. 

 Stebler and Dr. C. Schroter. Translated by A. N. McAlpine, 

 B.ScLond. London: Nutt. 1889. Pp. 171, tt. 30. 12s. 6d. 



This work was prepared by its authors for the agriculturists of 

 Switzerland. Dr. Stebler brought to his part of the work the 

 extensive practical knowledge he had acquired as Director of the 

 Seed Control- station at Zurich, while Prof. Schroter efficiently pre- 

 pared these systematic descriptions and supervised the admirable 

 plates which accompany the work. Never before have pasture- 

 plants been so accurately illustrated, and with so much detail. 

 For scientific students they leave nothing to be desired ; but we 

 fear the numerous directions, valuable to the student, may be 

 rather confusing to the agriculturist. Perhaps too little atten- 

 tion has been paid to the roots. Of grasses that are of equal im- 

 portance for quantity of yield and feeding value, the deep-rooting 

 species are to be preferred, not only because they secure a greater 

 extent of feeding ground, but also because they can resist the 

 summer drought, and continue to supply food for stock when their 

 more shallow-rooted neighbours are burnt up. The roots in the 

 figures of Cock's-foot and Fescue are perhaps fitting terminations to 

 the stems, but they are misleading as representations of the organs 

 of these plants. 



Dr. Stebler has brought together a vast amount of information 

 as to the climate, soil, manure, yield and nutritive value of the 

 various plants he treats of; and he has given from his own investi- 

 gations much useful information as to the seeds, their purity, 

 growth, quantity to be sown, &c. We notice that in distinguishing 

 between the seeds of Rye-grass and Meadow Fescue, he somewhat 

 imperfectly describes the stalk, — the most striking character, — and 

 gives an incorrect illustration of it, which is the more remarkable, 

 as this structure is admirably rendered by Prof. Schroter in the 

 plate devoted to Lolium perenne. 



But these and other errors that we might point out, scarcely 

 detract from the great value of the work before us, — a value which 

 is, however, greatest in Switzerland, where it was produced by the 

 help of a subsidy from the Federal Government. The translator 

 has considerably modified this value to English agriculturists, by 

 literally translating the text without any reference to the effect our 

 insular climate and more northern latitude may have upon the 

 plants. Thus, among the best forage plants we find Galega 

 officinalis, from South-eastern Europe, and Anthyllis Vulneraria 



