176 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



tree being made known, while every contention upheld by 

 the author is fully substantiated by the photographs. The 

 article on Sal runs to 75 pages, and is illustrated by 38 

 photographs and one coloured plate showing the germination 

 and growth of the seedling. We have thus brought before us 

 the good and the bad Sal forests of the various provinces of 

 India ; the natural reproduction of Sal on grassland ; the 

 particular grass and other vegetation that prepare the way for 

 the Sal ] and the invasion of Sal forests by noxious plants, 

 which is presumably facilitated by fire-protection. In fact every 

 condition and aspect of the Sal tree is fully described and 

 beautifully illustrated. 



The article on teakwood {Tectona grandis) runs to 71 pages, 

 and is illustrated by 31 photographs and one coloured plate 

 showing germination. To persons interested in the teak trade 

 the perusal of these pages should prove highly instructive, 

 while to the forest officer they give a direct lead to further 

 investigation in the successions and production of the tree and 

 its valuable timber. 



The number of plants dealt with by Professor Troup comes 

 very possibly to 750 species, while Brandis {Indian Trees) is 

 said to describe 4400. These figures give a conception of the 

 vast field already traversed, as also the great work that remains 

 to be tackled. The Silviculture of Indian Trees is not, however, 

 a book that many persons are likely to sit down to read from 

 first to last. It is essentially a work of reference, to be 

 consulted when special information is required regarding a 

 particular tree. The inquirer will be richly rewarded, for it 

 is brimful of useful and suggestive facts. But a work of that 

 nature is greatly injured if not carefully and fully indexed. I 

 regret to say that in this respect I have been much disappointed. 

 The Index is distinctly unsatisfactory. Some 58 pages have 

 been devoted to a very able introduction, which must be 

 Studied carefully to appreciate most of the arguments of the 

 text, and yet the Introduction does not appear to have been 

 indexed at all. Thus buried in the Introduction will be found 

 numerous interesting additional particulars. The story of Sal 

 is there briefly and pointedly amplified. Again, the text is 

 badly indexed ; thus Pinus excelsa is fully and ably discussed 

 and illustrated, several of the plates being admirably coloured, 

 but it is omitted from the scientific index. Similarly Bucklandia 



