248 BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, ETC. 



slides will be issued to illustrate the species. It is also intended 

 to publish a genus index to Schmidt's Atlas der Diatomaceen- 

 Kunde to the last plate published and a complete species index to 

 the same work, from the last part included in Fricke's Vcrzeichnis 

 to the most recent issue. The price of the former will be 2s., that 

 of the latter 5s., if twenty persons are prepared to order them. 

 He also sohcits orders for a more or less complete bibliography of 

 the DiatomacecB, the price of which will be according to the 

 number of subscribers. Practical Principles is published by the 

 author (University College, Dundee), price 4s. Qd. net. J. E. 



In view of the importance attaching to the development of 

 the herb-growing industry, attention may be drawn to the very 

 useful pamphlet on Medicinal Herbs : their Cultivation and Pre- 

 paration in Great Britain (Wesley & Son, price 6d.), by Mr. 

 E. M. Holmes, extracted from vol. xlii of the Koyal Horticultural 

 Society's Journal. Such a pamphlet, written by a competent 

 authority, is the more needed in that the information circulated 

 by well-intentioned folk is sometimes inaccurate and even mis- 

 leading — thus a list of " Wild Herbs which might be collected," 

 issued by the Herb-Growing Association, includes the North 

 American Scutellaria lateriflora, and the pamphlet throughout 

 abounds in astonishing misprints — e.g. " Majoram (Sweet), 

 Origanuon Majoramum." 



The second edition of Potter s Cyclopcedia of Botanical Drugs 

 and Preparations bears on its title-page the names of Messrs. 

 E. M. Holmes and E. C. Wren. The botanical portion having 

 been supervised by the former, who has also supplied a glossary 

 of botanical terms and " descriptions of the distinctive character of 

 each drug," it may safely be assumed that the work is both 

 useful and accurate : there is also a very full index of names 

 which are somewhat oddly classified : " Common Names are in 

 Capitals, as in ACACIA: Botanical Names are in Italics, as in 

 Acacia Catechie : Synonyms are in Eoman type, as in Adder wort." 

 There are some odd things among the " abbreviations of names 

 of authors": " Cyrill." assuredly does not refer to " Cyrillus, 

 Patriarch of Alexandria," who flourished in A.D. 444 and was 

 not, so far as we are aware, a botanical writer, and " James 

 Dalton Hooker" is unknown to us. The book, which is well 

 printed, and contains nearly 400 pages, is pubhshed by Potter & 

 Clarke, Limited, 60 Artillery Lane, London, E. : no date appears 

 anywhere and the price is not stated. 



Through the generosity of Lord Eothschild the Department 

 of Botany of the British Museum has acquired a series of 250 

 drawings of cultivated plants by Worthington G. Smith. The 

 drawings, which are twice the natural size, are the originals of 

 plates published by the Gardeners' Chronicle, and form a valuable 

 and interesting addition to the collection of original botanical 

 drawings in the Department. 



