298 
NALORE 
[JanuaRY 24, 1907 
Kashyapa, the Kushika father. Also their successors, 
the Sen kings, who restored the Hindu ritual and 
made Sonargaon their capital, are shown by their 
name to belong to the Subarna Bhanilk clan. 
The later kings of this dynasty became tributary 
to the first Mohammedan conquerors under Bulhtiyar 
Khiliji, and were finally dethroned by Tughral Khan 
and Balin, Emperor of Delhi, and his successor, 
Alla-uddin, made Sonargaon and its territories the 
eastern province of Bengal. Its subsequent history 
tells of the rule of successive viceroys, their rebellions 
and wars with the Delhi emperor, ending with the 
conquest of Bengal by the Afghan king Sher Shah 
and his clan, of whom the last ruler was Isha Khan, | 
the converted Hindu. His marriage with the Hindu 
Sona Bibi, his successor, and his submission to Man 
Singh Akbar’s general whom he had worsted in 
single combat, furnishes one of the most stirring tales 
here told. The story then tells of the building of 
Dacca by Jehangir’s viceroy, Islam Khan, in 1608 
A.D., and of the generally troublous rule of the 
viceroys of the Emperors Jehangir, Shah Jehan and 
Aurungzebe, in whose reign Dacca enjoyed twenty- 
five years of exceptional prosperity under Shaista 
Khan, Shah Jehan’s first cousin, and uncle by 
marriage to Aurungzebe, who married Shaista Khan’s 
niece. Under his rule the English came to Dacca, 
and the story of their early struggles and final con- 
quest of Bengal is most ably told in this book. The 
introduction of English machine-made cloth and 
English thread ruined the muslin trade of Dacca, and 
made it first an indigo mart and afterwards what it 
now is, the centre of the Bengal jute trade. 
J. F. Hewarr. 
U Grow,”’ the author refers mainly to the changes 
that occur in the succession of leaves from the cotyledon 
of the sporeling to the mature leaf of the sporophyte. 
It is suggested that in addition to the possibility of 
tracing phylogeny by means of ontogeny, a knowledge 
of the successive stages is likely to be of importance 
in the determination of species and varieties. These 
ideas are not, however, followed up, nor does the 
author offer the deductions that would be expected after 
the examination of a large number of serics of young 
plants. From the illustrations it appears that a reni- 
form shape characterises the earliest leaves of Pellaea 
atropurpurea, and the juvenile leaves of Onoclea sen- 
sibilis are somewhat similar; also the early leaves of 
the hart’s-tongue and the walking fern, Camptosorus 
rhizophyllus, show similarity. But the figures given 
PEANT LIFE.* 
and the number of species examined are too few to | 
permit of much, if any, generalisation. 
Books on plant life are becoming numerous, too 
numerous, and yet books on the subject suited to the 
special requirements of different schools are not obtain- 
able. Of the various books written for children in 
elementary schools, the ‘‘ Study of Plant Life,’’ by Miss 
Stopes, is quite the most logical and intelligent that we 
have seen. 
Beginning with the physiology of the plant, the first 
object is to show that a plant lives, that it breathes, 
1“* How Ferns Grow.” By M. Slosson. Pp. vii+156. 
Henry Holt and Co. ; London: Geo. Belland Sons, 1906.) 
net. 
(New York” 
Price 12s. 6d" 
_.‘ The Study of Plant Life for Young People.” By M. C. Stopes. Pp. 
xlit+202. (London: dela More Press, 1906.) Price 2s. 6a. net 
“Plant Life: Studies in Garden and School.” By ‘H. F. Jones. Pp 
xli+-260. (London: Methuen and Co., n.d.) Price 35. 6d. 
“The Romance of Plant Life.” By G. F. Scott-Elliot. Pp. 380. 
(London: Seeley and Co., 1907.) Price 55. 
“ The Green Gateway : a Peep into the Plant World.” By F. G. Heath. 
Pp. xi+138. (London: The Country Press, n.d.) Price 3s. net. 
NO. 1943, VOL. 75] 
NDER the somewhat indefinite title ‘‘ How Ferns | 
eats, grows, and moves. These functions are severally 
made apparent by simple experiments that can for the 
most part be carried out by children, and are explained 
with due care to impress their significance. The 
parts of the plant body and their uses are then dis- 
cussed, and this prepares the way for the descriptions 
of their more marked and common modifications. The 
fourth part briefly enumerates the characters of the five 
great classes of plants. Passing to the consideration of 
plants in their homes, typical plant formations are de- 
scribed, and finally it is indicated how a botanical 
survey is made and plotted. 
The foundation of the bools is laid in the first part, 
treating of the plant’s vitality, where the argument is 
well set out. The only suggestions that occur are of a 
minor nature, such as recommending other plants, 
Reduced from an illus- 
Victoria Regia in a public park in Minnesota. 
tration io ‘‘ The Romance of Plant Life.” 
the fuchsia or Eupatorium adenophorum, rather than 
the vine for root pressure, directing attention to the 
necessity of setting up a large number of culture solu- 
tions, &c. Throughout the book it will be found that 
the information is essentially clear and practical, the 
specimens selected for study easily obtainable, and 
the arrangement well balanced. While the figures 
generally are good, the plates illustrating water-plants 
and bladder-wrack are specially clever reproductions ; 
altogether the book provides an admirable presentment 
of botanical instruction for children. 
' Plant Life,”? by Mr. H. C. Jones, in contrast with 
the last, provides a series of notes on suitable worl for 
nature-study classes. 
It is divided into two portions, the first referring to 
plant life in the garden, the second to plant life in the 
school. The former includes chapters on twigs, bulb: 
beds, insect fertilisation, underground stems and roots, 
