128 



It is to be hoped that the plan will meet with enthusiastic re- 

 sponse throughout the country. If even only a few members of 

 each group undertook the experiment, a really valuable body of 

 information should be obtained. Surely no type of garden club 

 work could be more appropriate or more worth while. It is 

 through such programs that the Garden Club of America is be- 

 coming a highly important organization in the development of our 

 national horticulture. Full details of the Five- Year Plan are pub- 

 lished in the Bulletin of the Garden Club of America for March. 



BRIEF REVIEWS OF SOME WORTH-WHILE BOOKS 



Spring seems to be as important a season to publishers as it is 

 among all those people who admire and cultivate gardens. 



Before the first shoots of the snowdrops have penetrated the 

 thawing soil, books of interest to garden-lovers and of consequence 

 to real gardeners begin to appear, tempting workers and students 

 and readers alike. 



Of prime importance is the recent publishing of a new edition of 

 the indispensable "Hortus." Among other new books which have 

 already been acquired by the library of The Xew York Botanical 

 Garden, where they are available for reference, are numerous read- 

 able volumes on phases of horticulture, nature study, and related 

 subjects. A few of the new books are given brief reviews in the 

 following paragraphs : 



"HOKTIS" 1 



For the identification of plants under cultivation in Xorth Amer- 

 ica, coupled with brief but comprehensive directions for culture and 

 tor the treatment of essential gardening tasks, every serious gar- 

 dener knows that no other book is quite so valuable as "Hortus" as 

 a general guide. One point always in its favor is its utter reliabil- 

 ity. Now, in accordance with a hope expressed in the introduction 

 t<> the first edition ( [930), "a recognized continuing effort ... to 

 keep account of the cultivated flora" is being carried out. In these 



l Bailey, I.. II., and Bailey, Ethel Zoe, Hortus, A Concise Dictionary of 

 Gardening and General Horticulture. 755 pages; i<> plates. The Mac- 

 millan Company, New York, new revised edition with supplement, 1935. $5. 



