204 NATURAL SCIENCE [September 
similar case of faulty diction. On p. 371 Rotala verticillata is printed 
for R. verticillaris, and “near genus” (p. 388) should obviously be 
“new genus.” But errors like these are unimportant and, indeed, 
almost unavoidable. The main point to recognise is that we have here 
the second instalment of a work which shows excellent promise of 
proving creditable alike to the author and to the naturalist of whose 
‘grit’ and sagacity it bears such unequivocal signs. 
For AMATEUR GARDENERS 
GARDEN-MAKING: Suggestions for the use of home grounds. By L. H. Bailey, aided 
by L. R. Taft, F. A. Waugh and Ernest Walker. 8vo, vili+418 pp. New York: 
The Macmillan Co. 1898. Price 4s. net. 
Tur Pruntne-Boox: A monograph of the Pruning and Training of Plants as applied 
to American conditions. By L. H. Bailey. 8vo, xii+538 pp. New York: The 
Macmillan Co. 1898. Price 5s. net. 
ALTHOUGH these two charming little books are written primarily for 
American readers, they should be none the less welcome in this 
country. There are many things that we can learn from the ingen- 
uity of our Transatlantic cousins, and under the guidance of Professor 
Bailey, we are sure to do so in the most pleasant manner possible. 
The number of books that this genial author contrives to publish 
during a single year is a marvel in itself, even making allowance for 
the help of various colleagues; but what is even more remarkable 
is the verve with which each is written. Professor Bailey, it is clear, 
enjoys writing his books, and that is why we all enjoy reading them. 
The illustrations, too, are always good and appropriate. 
The book on Garden-making is original, with quaint fancies here 
and there, but practical withal. Its opening paragraph is one of the 
most fascinating introductions to a fascinating subject that we re- 
member. Let us quote some sentences. “ Every family can have 
a garden . . . one plant in a tin may be a more helpful and inspiring 
garden to some mind than a whole acre of lawn and flowers may be 
to another. The satisfaction of a garden does not depend upon the 
area, nor, happily, upon the cost or rarity of the plants. It depends 
upon the temper of the person. One must first seek to love plants 
and nature, and then to cultivate that happy peace of mind which 
is satisfied with little. If plants grow and thrive, he should be 
happy; and if the plants which thrive chance not to be the ones 
he planted, they are plants nevertheless, and nature is satisfied with 
them. . . . We are happier when we love the things which grow 
because they must. A patch of lusty pigweeds, growing and crowd- 
ing in luxuriant abandon, may be a better and more worthy object of 
affection than a bed of coleuses in which every spark of life and spirit 
and individuality has been sheared out and suppressed. The man 
who worries morning and night about the dandelions in the lawn will 
find great relief in loving the dandelions. Each blossom is worth 
more than a gold coin as it shimmers in the exuberant sunlight of 
the growing spring, and attracts the bees to its blossom. Little 
children love the dandelions: why may not we? Love the things 
nearest at hand, and love intensely. If I were to write a motto over 
the gate of a garden, I should choose the remark which Socrates made 
