November 23, 191 1] 



NATURE 



103 



the dynamical cooling- due to the forced ascent of the 

 air and consequent reduction of its pressure is a more 

 effective rain-producing agent. 



We have noted a few misprints and mis-statements, 

 but in general the principles as stated are sound. 

 The book is well printed on good paper, and there is 

 a useful index; but the binding- of the copy that we 

 have has already given way. R. C. 



A GARDEN OF HERBS. 

 The Herb-Garden. By Frances A. Bardswell. Pp. 

 viii+ 173 + plates. (London : A. and C. Black, 1911.) 

 Price 7^. 6d. net. 

 /^NE of the most delightful charms of old English 

 ^ ' gardening must have been due to the numerous 

 ~ Aeet-smelling and aromatic herbs that were com- 

 monly cultivated around the homesteads. The very 

 earliest records of gardening were supplied us by the 

 ancient herbalists who cultivated their simples for 

 medicinal purposes or for the pretty sentiments and con- 

 ceits that legend had associated with them, but there is 

 sufficient evidence that the herbalists took pleasure in 

 their plants for the further reason that many of them 

 possessed the qualities of beauty and fragrance. As 

 we read Gerarde and Parkinson or Culpepper, we 

 seem to breathe the atmosphere of the herbalist's gar- 

 den, laden as it was with the delightful perfumes of 

 lavender, balm, rosemary, southernwood, and many 

 other plants the names of which are scarcely known 

 to modern gardeners, much less their distinctive quali- 

 ties. 



The comparative neglect of the herbs which fire the 

 enthusiasm of the author may be traced to a feeling 

 allied to contempt, directly due to the fact that modern 

 medical science has exposed the fallacious character 

 of the beliefs formerly entertained in respect to their 

 healing qualities. The contempt was natural enough, 

 although unscientific and illogical, as is the case with 

 most things which are merely the results of reaction. 

 We are only just beginning to realise that, even when 

 it is admitted that the garden simples are not "heal- 

 alls," yet they have a wonderful interest for those who 

 care to study them and admit them to their gardens. 



At this point Miss Bardswell's book comes to show 



how we may make the most of the herbs from the 



point of view of the decorative gardener. It convinces 



*' '^ reader that many of the species have claims which 



uld entitle them to every consideration — fragrance, 



nance, and economic value in the kitchen, still- 



m, and nursery. The pictures by the Hon. 



rence Amherst and Miss Forrest are a pretty 



lure of the volume, and they greatly assist the 



hor in presenting her case, for they show that, if 



few of the sweet herbs possess such brilliant 



vers as, for example, the bergamot, nevertheless 



ny of them are sufficiently decorative to provide 



irming subjects for the artist's brush. And what 



ut their cultivation? The author gives all the 



'rmacion necessary for any novice who wishes to 



age in their culture. There are directions for 



iting, propagation, harvesting, and drying, with 



'filler details. We have known many cases where 



li' lbs were given a prominent place in the garden, 



NO. 2195, VOL. 88] 



and every care expended on their cultivation, but they 

 were not utilised indoors, as they might be, because 

 there appeared to be a lack of knowledge as to the 

 time proper for cutting them and the care they require 

 until they are perfectly dry. 



The first things to consider in the formation 

 of a herb garden are what site to choose and what 

 style to make the beds. The author has something to 

 say on these matters, but she is not inclined to be 

 rigid in her recommendations. Beyond insisting upon 

 the necessity for sunshine, she does not lay down rules 

 as to the form of beds, she pleads for the 

 cultivation of the herbs and is content if they 

 are planted in beds or In ordinary flower borders, 

 remarking that one of the best collections of herbs 

 she has seen was grown in a kitchen garden. For 

 ourselves, the interest we have in the plants Is partly 

 for their fragrance but equally for the sentiment that 

 belongs to them in the legends. Consequently we 

 admire them most when they overlay the confined 

 borders of the narrow and oblong beds In the old Eng- 

 lish garden, with paved paths on which the thyme 

 and other low-growing species find homes in the soil 

 between the flags, the whole surrounded with venerable 

 walls supporting old-fashioned climbers, including the 

 fragrant myrtle, honeysuckle, and other species remini- 

 scent of a long-past age. Such a garden we saw quite 

 recently in North Wales, where the lavender bushes 

 were three feet high and as much through. 



PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY FOR THE 

 GEOLOGIST. 

 Vorlesungen iiher die chemische Gleichgewichislehre 

 und ihre Anwendung auf die Probleme der 

 Mineralogie, Petrographie, und Geologie. By Prof. 

 R. Marc. Pp. vI + 212. (Jena: Gustav Fischer, 

 191 1.) Price 5 marks. 



IN this little volume Prof. Marc gives the substance 

 of a course of lectures delivered at the University 

 of Jena, dealing, as the title announces, with the 

 theory of chemical equilibrium in Its application to 

 mineralogical and geological problems. We gather 

 from the preface that these lectures were addressed 

 to students not previously acquainted with the 

 modern developments of physical chemistry. It is to 

 be presumed that the material has undergone con- 

 siderable condensation for the purpose of publication, 

 for a student in this situation must read very closely 

 if he is to obtain the full benefit of the book before 

 us. He will be aided by the simplicity of the 

 general plan, and by the author's clear method 

 of presentation, while the numerous well-chosen refer- 

 ences will enable him to pursue farther any particular 

 part of the subject. 



The first lecture treats of the general conception of 

 chemical equilibrium, and the second introduces the 

 reader to the law of mass action and the phase rule. 

 The next two lectures deal with the conditions of 

 equilibrium in systems of one component, the illustra- 

 tions being drawn so far as possible from cases which 

 are of importance to the geologist. Thus the depend- 

 ence of melting-point on pressure is considered with 

 special reference to the case of ice. Polymorphism 



