January 9, 19 19] 



XATURE 



the Sen :< it- AJsacienne, reappeared iii Yorkshire — 

 then tOO late, some authorities think, to give the 

 British manufacturer a chance in the short-combed 



I' rench goods trade. 



It is obvious thai the author has not followed 



the interesting work of Prof, Ewart, of Edinburgh 



University, 01 he would not refer to the black- 



d variety ol sheep as being "as near to the 



original as any breed now existing." The Uni- 



aboul 1 year ago purchased a 



flock of Soay sheep simply to maintain them as a 



representative pure-bred flock of a type dating 

 back to prehistoric times. The writer's statement 

 that hair will not tell is obviously based on second- 

 hand knowledge, which, is not trustworthy; again, 



the idea thai the serrations help to bind the fibres 

 her has now been brought seriously into 

 ■question. Thai worsteds will not felt was taught 

 for years in our technical institutes, but thousands 

 of pieces of worsted are now "milled " every day 

 in the West Riding of Yorkshire alone. 



There are men still living who have seen the 

 sources of supply of line wools change from Spain 

 to Silesia and Saxony, and then from Silesia and 

 Saxony to Australia; there are interesting evi- 

 dences of the changes in the treatment here given 

 to The World's Wool Supplv. " 



In dealing with "Preparation and Manufac- 

 ture " the writer shows again a certain lack of 

 grasp of fundamentals, as, for example, in explain- 

 ing the difference between woollen and worsted, 

 and in referring to healds and mails as "tiny loops 

 of string." Again, on p. 125 it is stated that 

 the needles in a Jacquard are acted on by holes, 

 whereas they are acted on, not by holes, but bv 

 blanks. There is a serious error in printing the 

 illustration of wool libres facing p. 42. The block 

 • videnily been turned round by the printers, 

 •with the result that the references are altogether 

 misleading. 



Having criticised the defects which, all con- 

 sidered, are few it is now the author's due that 

 the excellences of the work should be emphasised. 

 In many important respects the work is absolutely 

 lor example, the value of a suitable 

 atmosphere in the spinning-room is interestingly 

 1 : arnessing <>( streams of water for 

 power purposes is also referred to, although the 

 autb< to be unaware of the method of 



electric control of water-power to attain that neces- 

 sary steadiness in running otherwise unobtainable. 

 As further illustrating the up-to-dateness of the 

 work, reference will be found to the formation 

 of the Vgricultural Organisation Society for deal- 

 ing with British wools on lines similar to those 

 upon which Colonial wools are dealt with; to the 

 use of a woven paper cloth for wool packing; to 

 of the "automatic doffer " in the 

 ted spinning industry; and to the possibili- 

 ties of the automatic loom in which weaving is 

 done in the dark, any defect in the mechanism 

 at once lighting up the loom, thus indicating the 

 need for attention. 



The psychology of the consuming public comes 

 in for indirect attention, and the references to the 

 trade guilds — which appear to be somewhat re- 

 xo. 2567. VOI.. T02" 



markably resuscitated in our present-day trade 

 combines and mists _ am j other matters of his- 

 torical importance all tend to make the work very 

 interesting as well as directly useful. Upon the 

 whole, the work may be regarded as being among 

 the best ot the shorter general guides to the wool 

 trade and the wool-manufacturing industries; its 

 faults are few , and ils excellences many. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 

 Winter Botany. A Companion Yolume to the 

 Author's "Plant Materials of Decorative Gar- 

 dening." By Prof. W. Trelease. Pp. xxxii r 

 394. (Urbana : Published by the Author, 1918.) 

 Price 2.50 dollars 

 In this handy and concise little volume Prof. 

 I release describes the winter characters of 326 

 genera of trees and shrubs belonging to ninety- 

 three families. With the exception of Larix 

 and Taxodium, the Conifers are excluded, as 

 these, being evergreen, have been adequately 

 treated in the companion volume on " Plant 

 Materials " issued in 191 7. The book, though of 

 American origin, includes most of the genera 

 and species which the student is likely to find, 

 wild or in cultivation, in this country, and should 

 prove a useful handbook to the botanist who is 

 interested in the determination of woody plants 

 during the winter season. The generic description 

 is in each case supplemented by a wood-cut illus- 

 trating the chief points to be observed, and by a 

 brief kev to the species which are likely to be 

 found. 



The descriptive matter is preceded by a key to 

 the genera, and instructions are given as to its 

 use. A good pocket-lens is essential to the exam- 

 ination of the characters of the twigs which is 

 required for the use of the key. These characters 

 include the position of the leaves, as indicated by 

 the scars, the form of the scar, the position, 

 number, and form of the buds and stipules (if 

 present), the surface characters of the twigs, the 

 form of the pith, and other easily observed in- 

 ternal characters. As heath-like and some other 

 evergreen plants are included, the form and 

 arrangement of the persistent leaves are con- 

 sidered in these cases. References are also given 

 under the genus to descriptive works in which 

 the winter characters of the plants in question 

 are more fully treated. A useful glossary and a 

 full index of Latin and popular names complete 

 the volume. 



The Illinois and Michigan Canal: A Study in 



Economic History. By Prof. J. W. Putnam. 



(Chicago Historical Society's Collection, vol. x.) 



Pp. xiii + 213. (Chicago: The University of 



Chicago Press, 1918.) Price 2 dollars. 



Tins book was originally prepared as a doctoral 



dissertation of the University of Wisconsin. It is 



a mine of facts and a concrete illustration of the 



thesis that canals were a success when there were 



no railways, but are not a success when faced 



with tlie competition of modern railway transport. 



At the same time the success of this canal was an 



