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The Forester. A Practical Treatise on 

 British Forestry and Arboriculture for 

 Landowners, Land Agents, and For- 

 esters. By John Nisbet, 2 Vols. Illus- 

 trated. Pp. 506-642. William Blackwood 

 & Sons, Publishers, Edinburg. 

 This is in many ways the most important 

 book on forestry that has yet appeared in 

 English. As the author says in his preface, 

 it is neither a reprint nor a revision of the 

 work by John Brown, and Brown and Nis- 

 bet, which, under the same title has gone 

 through six editions, but is an entirely new 

 production. The general character of the 

 book is indicated in its sub-title, and the 

 broad distinction made between forestry and 

 arboriculture is worth noting. The differ- 

 ence is too rarely recognized in this coun- 

 try. 



The fact that the book is avowedly writ- 

 ten from the British point of view, and for 

 the guidance of British cultivators, limits 

 its usefulness here in a very large measure ; 

 yet we have so few books on the subject in 

 English that one is disposed to value this 

 for the many important things it does con- 

 tain. What does not apply may be over- 

 looked. 



In a lengthy introduction (Part I) are 

 given an historical sketch of forestry and 

 arboriculture in Britain, facts and statistics 

 relative to British woodlands, and a dis- 

 cussion of forest influences and the eco- 

 nomic value of forests. The last is of gen- 

 eral application and interest, and brings 

 together many facts not available to one 

 who reads no language but English. 



Part II considers individually the tree 

 species of the British Isles, the large num- 

 ber that have been introduced as well as 

 those that are native. The effort is made 

 to describe each tree botanically, silvicultu- 

 rally, and economically, and while there is 

 evidence of much painstaking, the state- 

 ments made are often faulty. For in- 

 stance, it is said of Douglas Fir, "the 

 best wood comes from moderate elevations 

 on the west slopes of the Rocky Mountains, 

 and is of great durability." Even in the 

 British part of its range the tree is best 

 developed and produces the best timber west 

 of the Cascade Mountains, and the wood 

 is nowhere considered very durable. Again, 

 it is said "The wood of the Scarlet Oak 

 is of little value. It is so porous and open 



of texture that even in America it is chiefly 

 used for making staves for dry-goods bar- 

 rels. It does not even make fair fire-wood." 

 v.. tli respect to common names there is the 

 usual confusion : Pinus sylvestris, L. is 

 Scots Pine, or Common Fir," Acer Sac- 

 charinum L. is "Soft Sugar or Bird's Eye 

 Maple" and Pseudotsuga Douglasii Carr. is 

 "Red Pine." The last name is used locally 

 only in some parts of the Rocky Mountains, 

 whereas Red Fir is the common name in 

 the lumber trade. 



Part III is devoted to silviculture and pre- 

 sents in a very satisfactory way the ac- 

 cepted European practices. An American 

 is always dissatisfied with this part of every 

 work on forestry, because the methods are 

 based upon rules of practice instead of upon 

 principles of universal application. It may 

 be reasonably expected that before long 

 American foresters will answer the need for 

 a true system of silviculture based upon 

 natural laws. 



Part IV deals with the protection of 

 woodlands from ill influences of every kind. 

 The chief value of this section is in its 

 suggestions because injury to forests and 

 trees is so largely a question of local condi- 

 tions. 



Part V treats of forest management and 

 Part VI of forest products. Both sections 

 are written for the British practicant, and 

 consequently have a restricted value here. 

 The theoretical principles of forest man- 

 agement are well presented, however, and 

 one is glad to find the various formulae for 

 determining rotation, rate of increment, etc., 

 in such convenient form. The tables in 

 the appendix to Part V are especially val- 

 uable. What is said of the technical prop- 

 erties of timber is valuable as a compilation 

 of the known facts, but the author himself 

 doubtless realizes how little definite, exact 

 knowledge there is on this subject. The 

 chapters on forest utilization have little 

 application here. The terminology fre- 

 quently differs from that commonly used 

 in the United States, and some words are 

 worth adopting. Felling, for instance, in 

 place of cutting. 



To the American forest student this book 

 comes as a boon and the professional will 

 often want to refer to it. Numerous faults 

 and many shortcomings might be pointed 

 out, but as a whole the book will be found 



