AGRICULTURAL BOOK REVIEWS 



XI 



"The title is somewhat of a misnomer; for 

 this book is a painstaking attempt to explain 

 to the popular mind the whole question of 

 nutrition. What the general reader most wants 

 to know just now is what are vitamines and 

 what is the latest knowledge about them? It 

 is doubtful whether he will have the patience 

 first to delve through eight chapters on fuel 

 values, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, mineral 

 matter, water and oxygen, the amino-acids, 

 and the like." — Survey 



HARSHBERGER, JOHN WILLIAM. Text-book 

 of pastoral and agricultural botany, for the 

 study of the injurious and useful plants 

 of country and farm. '20 Blaki.ston's son & 

 CO. $2 20-17509 



A knowledge of the useful and poisonous 

 plants on a farm is an essential part of the 

 equipment of the agriculturist, but hitherto 

 the requisite information has been to a large 

 extent scattered and difficult of access. In 

 the present volume the account of the stock- 

 killing and poisonous American plants is 

 thorough and comprehensive, a specially useful 

 feature being the inclusion of methods of treat- 

 ment where they are known. It is a pity the 

 photographs of affected animals are not re- 

 produced more clearly, as several of them fail 

 to illustrate their point. 



The crop plants are dealt with .sufficiently, 

 though briefly, and the bibliography at the 

 end of each chapter assists the student to 

 follow up any requisite line of inquiry. It 

 may be suggested that in future editions an 

 "author index" would greatly enhance the ralue 

 of the book, as at present it is not always easy 

 to determine if a reference, is included. The 

 laboratory exercises which follow each chap- 

 ter are very practical and well thought out, 

 and render the book serviceable to the private 

 worker, as well as to the class student. The 

 same object is attained by the inclusion of 

 a glossary with the detailed index. Prof. 

 Harshberger is to be congratulated on the 

 production of a much-needed working manual, 

 the value of which lies not only in the well- 

 arranged and clearly written information it con- 

 tains, but also in the suggestiveness which 

 renders it adaptable for use in countries other 

 than America. — Nature 



Dr. Harshberger has compressed within 

 small compass much useful information and 

 references on poisonous plants, and also on 

 the principal economic plants. The material 

 was originally presented by him to classes of 

 veterinary students. It will be valued, however, 

 by anyone with some scientific education, who 

 is interested in agriculture. — J Heredity 



HAWLEY, RALPH CHIPMAN. Practice of 

 silviculture; with particular reference to its 

 application in the United States. '21 Wiley 

 $4 21-4176 



"The subject is presented from the standpoint 

 of the teacher and the arrangement and dis- 

 cussion is shaped in a manner which will be 

 clear to the student. The topics treated are re- 

 production methods, clear cutting method, the 

 seed tree method, the shelter-wood method, the 

 selection method, the coppice method, coppice 

 with standard method, intermediate cuttings, 

 method of controlling cuttings, slash disposal, 

 forest protection against forest fires, against in- 

 sects, against tree diseases and domestic ani- 

 mals (grazing), protection against avalanches, 

 landslides, floods and shifting sand. The au- 

 thor's long experience ih the practical applica- 

 tion of silviculture on forest properties and in 

 teaching the subject, as well as his position 

 among the leading foresters of the United 

 States, assure the authority and value of his 

 book." American Forestry 



HOOPER, CECIL H. Fruit farming; practical 

 and scientific. (2d ed) Lockwood press. 6s 

 Of the numerous books on fruit culture this 

 is one of the few written exclusively for the 

 market grower. It should therefore appeal to 

 many people who are now taking up fruit 

 farming or thinking of doing so. They will 



be able to sift out from it a good deal of in- 

 formation which they cannot find elsewhere. 

 Several of the chapters have been contributed 

 by specialists, scientific men, and market 

 growers, which adds to the value of the book, 

 although it accounts for unequal treatment and 

 overlapping. Some of these chapters are 

 thoroughly practical and useful, others so 

 scrappy as to be almost worthless. Facts and 

 figures are the author's strong point, and these 

 are just what beginners are eager to learn 

 and have a difficulty in finding. Although many 

 of the figures are pre-war, they do form some 

 basis on which to estimate capital required, 

 cost of cultivation, probable returns, etc. — 

 Gard Chron (Lond) 



KING, LOUISA (YEOMANS) (MRS FRANCIS 

 KING). The Little Garden. '21 Atlantic 

 Monthly Press $1.75 21-17360 



"The little garden, as it will be considered 

 in these pages, means not exclusively the 

 spaces for flowers available in a town or sub- 

 urban lot. It means too, the setting for those 

 spaces — the ground about the house, and that 

 in which the garden lies. It is a comprehen- 

 sive term, to include the planting, planning, 

 and treatment of the whole of a piece of 

 ground" of a size to be found most generally in 

 towns and suburbs." 



"When throughout this country, the flower- 

 garden on the farm — when the small place, 

 well planned and planted — shall have become 

 the rule, not the exception, we shall possess 

 a pervading loveliness in a land where to-day 

 such loveliness is sadly lacking. In the suc- 

 cessful treatment of ground small in dimen- 

 sion, in the beautiful quality of the little gar- 

 den, lies the true future beauty of America." 

 — Preface 



Contents: Situation, soil, surroundings: The 

 plan; Enclosing the garden: the wall, the 

 fence, the hedge; Accessories and adjuncts of 

 the garden; Flowers in the little garden; Color 

 in the little garden; Care of the little garden: 

 tools, pruning, spraying. 



LAROUSSE agricole; encylopedie illustree, 

 publiee sous la direction de MM. E. Chan- 

 crin. . .et E. Duniont. fasc. 1-36. 33 cm. 

 Paris, Librairie Larousse. 

 A new French agricultural cyclopedia which 

 is being issued in parts containing 16 pages 

 each. The arrangement is strictly alphabet- 

 ical, the 36 parts parts already received bring- 

 ing the work well into the letter E. It is 

 well illustrated both by figures in the text and 

 by colored plates. The list of collaborators in- 

 cludes some of the well known writers of 

 France. The price of each part is 2 francs. — 

 U. S. D. A. Library 



McCOLLUM, ELMER VERNER and SIM- 

 MON DS, NINA. American home diet. '20 

 Frederick C. Mathews co. $3.50 20-12627 



The authors' aim in this book is to present 

 in non- technical language for the housewife 

 the modern theories of nutrition. In Part I 

 considerable space has been given to a descrip- 

 tion of the results of faulty diets as 

 observed in animal experimentation and in 

 human nutrition. Reasons are given "for the 

 superiority of certain comliinations of foods over 

 others" and evidence offered "that the regular 

 use of proper combinations of our common food- 

 stuffs is the keynote to the successful feeding 

 of the family." It is this definite and easily 

 understood statement of the senior author's 

 theories of diet that has made them so widely 

 accepted. 



Part II of the book contains menus for 365 

 days of the year. Illustrations are also given 

 of menus unsatisfactory for the promotion of 

 health and of ways of modifying these by the 

 addition of "protective foods — milk, eggs, and 

 leafy vegetables." 



The book will be exceedingly valuable to 

 housewives and to those who are interested in 

 giving popular instruction in the selection of 

 food. The material is presented in a simple, 

 definite, and interesting manner. — J Home 

 Econ 



