338 



NA TURE 



[August i i, 1904 



Another report demanding special notice is the one 

 by Mr. R. C. Punnett on the Enteropneusta, the 

 collection brought together by Mr. Gardiner being the 

 most extensive hitherto made in any one locality. This 

 richness has enabled Mr. Punnett to attempt the study 

 of the variation (that is to say, the development of 

 local forms) displayed by certain members of the 

 group, this having never been previously practicable. 

 In addition to the description of new species of 

 Ptychodera and Balanoglossus, the author takes the 

 opportunity of describing a new generic type from 

 Zanzibar, for which the name WiWeyia bisitlcata is 

 proposed, characterised by its large size and the great 

 length of the proboscis and collar. After discussing 

 many debatable structural features connected with 

 these curious organisms, Mr. Punnett takes occasion 

 to express his opinion of the importance of Willey's 

 theory as to the origin of gill-clefts, which he believes 

 to obtain further support from the evidence of this 

 group. To recapitulate the author's views in detail 

 would occupy too much space, and it can only be 

 mentioned that the gonads are suggested as being the 

 prime factors in the segmentation of the Chordata, 

 each gonad having ultimately acquired an independent 

 aperture of escape froin the body, which became sub- 

 sequently used for respiration, and thus a gill-cleft. 



If we pass over the accounts of the Chordata by 

 Messrs. Cooper and Punnett, it is only from lack of 

 that space necessary to do anything like justice to 

 one of the most important biological and physio- 

 graphical works of our time. To conclude without 

 expressing our opinion as to the business-like manner 

 and thoroughness with which both the expedition 

 itself and the examination and description of the speci- 

 mens and the codifying of the general results have 

 been carried out (so far as they are yet published) 

 would, however, be alike ungracious and unappreci- 

 ative. R. L. 



JOHN PARKINSON'S " PARADISUS." 

 Paradisi in Sole Paradisus terrestris. By John 

 Parkinson. Faithfully reprinted from the edition 

 of 1629. Pp. I-1-612. (London: Methuen and Co., 

 1904.) Price 2I. 2S. net. 



THIS is a handsome reprint of a notable book, 

 which, even in its original form, never made so 

 brave a show as does this facsimile, with its fine type, 

 excellent paper, rough edges, and grey paper boards. 

 The page illustrations suffer somewhat in sharpness, 

 owing to the process by which they have been repro- 

 duced, in comparison with the cuts in the older editions, 

 which were worked from the blocks themselves. It 

 is a genuine reprint ; with the exception of a half-title 

 and the title-page set out above, the old herbalist's book 

 is left to tell its own tale. We are glad to be spared 

 the modern editor's introduction, which in this instance 

 would have been an infliction. 



John Parkinson, King's Herbalist, was born in 1567, 

 and with John Gerard occupies a special position in 

 our literature as one of our herbalists. Gerard's 

 " Herball " was based upon Continental work, and 

 very few cuts were due to him; Parkinson's books 

 NO. 18 I 5, VOL. 70] 



were his own, woodcuts and text alike. Gerard's 

 " Herball " was edited and much improved by Thomas 

 Johnson in 1633, and was reprinted in 1636; Parkin- 

 son's " Paradisus," which came out in 1629, when the 

 author had passed his sixtieth birthdav, was reprinted 

 in 1656, six years after his death, practically unaltered. 

 He regarded the " Paradisus " as constituting three 

 parts of a comprehensive treatise on plants — the garden 

 of pleasant flowers, the kitchen garden, and the 

 orchard. Eleven years later, the fourth part, his 

 "Theatrum," appeared, devoted chiefly to medical 

 plants, but in bulk much exceeding his previous, 

 publication. 



We have before us copies of all the issues ; the 

 original issue of 1629, with its thin, foxed paper and 

 striking woodcuts, and its reprints. Parenthetically it 

 may be remarked that these blocks, measuring ten 

 inches by six, do not appear to be built up, as box- 

 wood blocks, but were cut along the grain, and con- 

 sisted of pear-wood. The actual blocks are not 

 extant, but judging from woodcuts of the same 

 century we are justified in assuming that Parkinson's; 

 illustrations were produced as we have said. The 

 old authors were economical of their blocks; Dodoens, 

 Clusius, and their contemporaries were apt to square 

 off their plants to fit the block, or to twist the plant 

 to come within the limits available. Here we find 

 many specimens displayed on the same block, some- 

 times ingeniously arranged in a give-and-take manner. 

 No book gives a better idea of the gardens of the time, 

 with their plans and plants, than the volume before 

 us ; the author starts with general principles of lay- 

 ing out or " ordering " his garden, and then goes on 

 to describe what should grow in it — hardy flowers 

 nearly all, but the variety of tulips, iris, narcissus, 

 and similar plants strikes a modern reader. Many 

 little touches of human personality shine through the 

 accounts given ; old colleagues and benefactors by 

 whom certain bulbs or seeds were introduced are 

 mentioned ; some of those named may be found in the 

 works of other authors, and we greet them as old 

 friends ; some of them appear in connection with their 

 favourite flowers, as " John Tradescant his great Rose 

 Daffodill," or " Mr. Wilmer's great double Daffodill." 

 It is largely due to the revived love for hardy garden, 

 flowers, especially the narcissus, that Parkinson's book 

 has of recent years become almost impossible to get, 

 the price having risen from shillings to nearly as many 

 pounds within one generation. 



The second issue varied from the first by having a 

 printed title-page in front of the engraved one, and 

 although it boasted of being " much Corrected and 

 Enlarged," many of the printer's errors noted in the 

 first were not corrected in the second edition ; the pages 

 are not precisely the same, nor are the tables at the 

 end, and the only noticeable enlargement is the letter- 

 press title-page just mentioned. 



The third issue is that now under review, but the 

 publishers seem to have failed to notice the pun in the 

 title, which at length runs thus : — 



" Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. Or a 

 Garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our 

 English ayre will permitt to be noursed upp : with A 



