242 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The second, or " Special," parts of the volumes are constructed 

 very much on the plan adopted in the analytical tables of 

 Schwarz's Forstliche Botanik. These parts are illustrated by 

 many original drawings, which should prove of much service in 

 the work of identification. 



These volumes are to be followed by others dealing with 

 Inflorescence and Flowers, Fruits and Seeds, Seedlings, and the 

 Habit and Conformation of the Tree as a whole, and, when 

 completed, will no doubt be of great use to the scientifically- 

 trained student of forestry ; but a work on Forest-Botany 

 extending to six volumes is unlikely to appeal to the ordinary 

 forester. A. D. R. 



The Timbers of Commerce and their Identification. By Herbert 

 Stone, F.L.S., F.R.C.I. London: Wm. Rider & Son, Ltd., 

 1904. Price, 7s. 6d. net. 



While written chiefly for those engaged in the foreign timber 

 trade, whether merchants or manufacturers, this book will find 

 favour with all who take an interest in commercial woods. The 

 author has brought to bear on his labours a rare combination of 

 scientific and practical knowledge of the subject, and a thoroughly 

 reliable work of reference is the result. Two hundred and forty- 

 five diff'erent kinds of woods are minutely described, and excellent 

 photo-micrographs of one hundred and eighty-six kinds are given ; 

 and in order to still further facilitate the work of identification, in 

 addition to the ordinary structural characters of the wood, such 

 tests as smell, taste, the phenomena exhibited in the process of 

 burning, etc., are introduced. The sources of supply, uses of the 

 timber, and many other useful data are given, and, upon the 

 whole, as a work of reference at a moderate price, the book is 

 one of the best which has been written on the subject. 



A curious fact which the author relates is that he was unable 

 to identify any of the commercial mahoganies, either with the true 

 mahogany [Stvietenia Alahogani) of the new world, or with the 

 African mahogany {Khaya senegalensis), and that the conclusion 

 he came to was that most if not all the commercial mahoganies 

 belonged to the genus Cedrela, a. genus which also includes 

 one of the commonest ** cedar " woods of commerce. 



The book is one which can with confidence be recommended 

 to all interested in commercial timbers. A. D. R, 



