April 1 8, 1 889] NA TURE 



579 



and the variety of authorities quoted are extraordinary, 

 and we welcome this addition to the literature of grasses 

 as most opportune. The work is practical as well as 

 theoretical. It deals with hay-making and ensilage, im- 

 purities and adulteration, preparation of the soil, time for 

 sowing, quantities of seed, and judging the quality of 

 seed. It also supplies accurate botanical descriptions, 

 describes varieties, and treats of geographical distribu- 

 tion, growth, and development. So far as the list of 

 plants described is concerned, the work is complete ; so 

 far as it purports to treat of the " be^ forage plants," it is 

 incomplete, and ought either to have been preceded, 

 or be followed, by another. As a botanical account of 

 various members of the Gramineae and Leguminosye, the 

 book is exceedingly useful. It must, however, be borne 

 in mind that a large proportion of the grasses described 

 are unimportant economically, and are therefore not to 

 be ranked as among the best fodder crops. Take, 

 for example Yorkshire fog {Holais ianatus), false oat 

 grass {Arrhenatheruin elaieus), yellow oat grass {Avena 

 flavesccns), sweet vernal grass {Anthoxanthum oder- 

 atuin), reed canary grass {Phalaris arimdinacece) 

 upright brome grass {Brotnus erectiis), awnless brome 

 grass {Bromus tnermis), kidney vetch {Anthillis vul- 

 neraria), and goat's rue {Galega officinalis). These 

 plants are not of any agricultural importance, and yet 

 they occupy about one-third of the attention of the 

 reader. 



Dr. Stebler's book is, in fact, a study of pastoral plants 

 rather than of agricultural crops, and its chief students 

 will be found am ong seedsmen and those who are aban- 

 doning agriculture for the simpler processes of pastoral 

 life. 



As a manual of grasses it is exhaustive, so far as the 

 ' ts selected for description are concerned, but the 

 iber described is limited, and the order in which they 

 introduced is curiously unscientific. Why, for in- 

 ice, is sainfoin interpolated between Festuca ovina and 

 uca heterophylla ? and with what object is Alsike clover 

 lied in between rough-stalked meadow grass and 

 < p's fescue, and separated from red and white clovers 

 I number of true grasses ? 



iimewhat significantly, the first position in this stan- 



1 work is allotted to perennial rye-grass, and in the 



it of the present controversy upon the value of this 



■^s it is interesting to know what so high an authority 



')r. Steblerhas to say upon its value and permanence. 



•aking of it, he says : — " At times over-estimated, at 



cs depreciated, it is yet one of the most valuable 



^ses. It is more a 'bottom' than a 'top' grass. 



•: pastures on heavy soils it cannot be surpassed. In 



irshy districts where the soil is good, it forms a large 



l|, proportion of the herbage, so much so that in such cases 



[.€xperienced agriculturists use only perennial rye-grass 



and a little white clover. Its duration depends very much 



on the nature of the soil and the climate : on dry, light 



soils it disappears after the second year, whilst in moist 



climates and on good heavy soils, it will persist for seven 



years or even longer." The word perennial must always 



be used in a qualified sense, as no grass, unless it be 



gifted with immortality, can actually be so described. The 



'ividuals perish, but their place is taken by fresh genera- 



ns, and in is sense rye-grass may be considered as a 



lasting ingredient in pastures. Its occurrence on village 

 greens, where it cannot seed, meadows, and town moors, 

 as well as in almost all pastures, and especially those 

 which are closely grazed, are evidences that rye-grass 

 can hold its own for an indefinite length of time. Our 

 own climate is especially suited to it, especially when 

 the soil is of a heavy nature and of good quality. Dr. 

 Stebler recommends 5 per cent, as the maximum amount 

 in a mixture required for permanent pasture, but on this 

 point we must differ from him. He, in fact, is not quite 

 consistent, as he tells us that 80 per cent., with white 

 clover to complete the mixture, is used for forming 

 the excellent pastures on the alluvial flats of Northern 

 Germany. 



In the discussion now occupying the attention of agri- 

 culturists as to the value of perennial rye-grass, both 

 sides may adduce arguments based on Dr. Stebler's 

 opinion, but a perusal of the work will show that the 

 relative permanence of the various grasses described is 

 not pointed out with clearness. The subject is, indeed, 

 beset with many difficulties, and the chief argument in 

 favour of the true perennial character of rye-grass is its 

 continual presence in closely-grazed pastures. 



The illustrations of seeds and the botanical descriptions 

 are among the most useful features of this excellent 

 work. The analyses and chemistry of the grasses are 

 also instructive. The book is evidently written from 

 actual personal knowledge, and the positions of Dr. 

 Stebler as Director of the Seed Control Station at Ziirich, 

 and of Dr. C. Schroter, the Professor of Botany, also at 

 Zurich, are guarantees that the work is thorough and 

 trustworthy. 



Prof. McAlpine, who has undertaken the arduous 

 work of translation, is the Botanist to the Highland and 

 Agricultural Society. The work has been printed abroad, 

 and the typography is somewhat cramped and the quality 

 of the paper and binding scarcely worthy of the text. A 

 glaring advertisement on the outside of the cover might 

 well have appeared somewhere else than on a work of 

 such standard merit as that of Drs. Stebler and Schroter. 

 John Wrightson. 



THE ZOOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE 

 ''CHALLENGER'' EXPEDITION. 

 Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. 

 " Challenger'' during the Years 1873-76, under the 

 command of Captain George S. Nares, R.N., F.R.S., 

 and the late Captain Frank T. Thomson, R.N. Pre- 

 pared under the superintendence of the late Sir C. 

 Wyville Thomson, Knt., F.R.S., &c., Director of the 

 Civilian Staff on board, and now of John Murray, 

 LL.D., Ph.D., (Sec, one of the Naturalists of the 

 Expedition. Zoology— Vol. XXIX. Published by 

 Order of Her Majesty's Government. (London : Printed 

 for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, and sold by Eyre 

 and Spottiswoode, 1888.) 



VOLUME XXIX. contains a Report, by the Rev. 

 Thomas R. R. Stebbing, on the Amphipoda col- 

 lected during the cruise of the Challenger; it forms one 

 of the longest volumes yet issued, consisting of 1774 

 pages of letterpress, and is illustrated with an atlas of 

 212 plates. 



