REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 1 67 



then, at a given percentage of water, the amount of physiologi- 

 cally available water contained in a unit of volume of wood is 

 also proportional to the "specific gravity " of the wood. As the 

 "specific gravity" of the wood of sycamore (and other species) 

 varies from place to place in the same trunk, it follows that the 

 adopted method of recording the amount of water present as a 

 weight percentage does not alone indicate the quantity of water 

 present or available in a given volume of wood : for instance, 

 if in two regions of a trunk the recorded percentages of water 

 be respectively 50 and 40, but the specific gravities of the wood 

 be respectively -4 and -5, then in reality equal volumes of wood 

 in the two regions contain exactly the same amount of water. 

 The extent to which this volumetric method of assessing the 

 amount and distribution of water in the wood might modify the 

 interpretation of Mr Craib's results cannot be gauged in the 

 absence of the required additional and laborious measurements, 

 which, in any case, could not deprive of their value the signifi- 

 cant facts discovered by Mr Craib. 



It is satisfactory to learn that Mr Craib intends to continue 

 this line of research, and the hope may be expressed that in a 

 future paper he may be willing to summarise the information 

 already published on this subject by workers in other countries. 



Percy Groom. 



Seaside Planting. By A. D. Webster. London : T. Fisher 

 Unwin, Ltd. Price 18s. net. 



Mr Webster in the preface states that "This book has been 

 written in order that the possibilities of seaside planting and 

 benefits therefrom, both in a direct and indirect way, may be 

 appreciated." The object is laudable. The benefits of seaside 

 planting to the neighbouring country cannot be overrated. 

 Plantations afford shelter from sea-blasts, and frequently help to 

 stay the advances of sand-dunes. The author sets forth in this 

 work the results of his experience and observations. He devotes 

 a considerable amount of space to questions relating to the 

 preparation of the ground, and the choice of species, not only 

 of trees and shrubs, but also of climbing, wall, alpine, and 

 herbaceous plants. He advocates trenching chalky and cal- 

 careous soils, peat and mud fiats, and clays previous to planting. 

 Before following this recommendation it would be advisable 



