290 
The account of the cultivation in 
America of Scots pine, European larch, and 
Norway spruce is of considerable interest. All 
three grow well for a time, but never make good 
trees in the eastern parts of the United States. 
(3) The ‘“‘Handbook of Forestry,” which has 
been issued by the Cooper Laboratory at Watford, 
is inconvenient to handle, being a thin folio of 82 
pages, with 25 illustrations of very unequal merit. 
While generally sound in regard to practice, it 
contains nothing that has not been said before in 
several small, handy text-books, and is startling 
in its omissions. While the London plane is in- 
cluded as a forest tree, the Corsican pine, which 
is the most valuable of its genus for many soils 
and situations, is omitted. In the chapter entitled 
“conditions affecting growth” nothing is said 
about the important questions of altitude, exposure 
to wind, situation near the sea or inland, and 
latitude, all important factors influencing the 
choice of species and the formation of new planta- 
tions. The “Black Poplar” (Populus nigra) is 
correctly drawn; but in the description it is con- 
fused with the “Black Italian Poplar” (Populus 
serotina), the fast-growing hybrid tree, which 
should always be planted in preference to the 
former, when timber is required. 
Such statements as (p. 64) that the lime is not 
indigenous, and names like Tilia magnifolia, show 
that the author is not well acquainted with forest 
botany. The two native birches are distinguished 
by drawings, but nothing is said of their very 
different soil-requirements. 
produced. 
OUR BOOKSHELF. 
Practical Stone Quarrying: a Manual for Man- 
agers, Inspectors, and Owners of Quarries, and 
for Students. By A. Greenwell and Dr. J. 
Vincent Elsden. Pp. xx+564. (London: 
Crosby Lockwood and Son. 1913.) Price 
t2s. 6d. net. 
WHEN our hard-headed forbears were roving Pilt- 
down, the art of the quarryman could scarcely 
have been in its infancy; yet we have far to travel 
in the mazes of the past if we must find its be- 
ginnings, and the work of some of the early 
masters of the craft still remains to excite our 
wonder. From the nature of the material ancient 
methods were very like our own, and _ probably 
differed mainly in speed. 
Old though the art may be we are still in doubt 
as to what a quarry is; most likely the ancient 
quarryman was not troubled with this question, 
but now, what with Acts of Parliament, judicial 
embellishments, and the sanction of custom, it has 
become” impossible to define ‘“‘quarry.” The 
authors of this volume have made a brave effort 
to clear up the confusion; it is very interesting, 
but scarcely successful. They have had almost as 
NO. 2297, VOL. 92| 
NATURE 
[NovEMBER 6, 1913 
much difficulty with “stone” ; however, by includ- 
ing some “mines” among the quarries and omit- 
ting to take account of some materials which 
would come under their own definition of stone, 
they have succeeded in producing an eminently 
satisfactory book on the subject, one for which 
there was a real need. 
After an adequate discussion of the occurrence: 
of stone, the distribution of quarries in the United 
Kingdom, and divisional planes in rocks, there 
follows some excellent advice on the location of 
quarries and their proper development, a subject 
of the greatest importance. 
A large amount of space is devoted to methods. 
of extraction, tools, blasting, cableways, and 
haulage systems. The table, p. 300, giving the 
amounts of different explosives used in the United 
Kingdom, would have been more valuable if the 
explosives had been classified according to the 
kind of rock and the uses of the stone. 
A short chapter treats of the preparation of 
stone for the market, another with the dangers of 
quarrying, and the book concludes with some 
remarks on quarry legislation which may be com- 
mended to the notice of those in authority. The 
volume is very well illustrated, and there is a 
fair index. 
The Microtomist’s Vade-Mecum. A Handbook of 
the Methods of Microscopic Anatomy. By 
A. B. Lee. Seventh edition. Pp. x526% 
(London: J. and A. Churchill, 1913.) Price 
15s. net. 
WE gladly welcome the new edition of this worl 
which has become indispensable in all laboratories. 
of biology. The general plan and the size of the 
book remain unaltered, but the author has 
managed by judicious “ pruning,’’ and some ex- 
clusion of out-of-date matter, to introduce much 
new matter, more than seven hundred additonal 
entries appearing in the index. 
Goldmann’s intra-vitam staining methods, and 
improvements in the silver fibril stains of Biel- 
schowsky and Ramén y Cajal are detailed. 
Gibson’s new mounting media, which dispense 
with the use of clearing agents, and confer on 
unstained or feebly stained objects just the re- 
quired degree of visibility, are described. The 
sections relating to the blood and blood parasites 
have been rewritten. Not the least useful part 
of the contents are the full references given to 
the literature of the subject. Those who have 
worked with former editions will find that the 
present one maintains in all respects the high 
standard of its predecessors. R. Dene 
Astronomy Simplified. By Rev. Alex. C. Hender- 
son. (London: James Clarke and Co., 1913.) 
Tue object of this book is, as the author states, 
“to extend a knowledge of the sublimest of the 
sciences,”’ and he intentionally reminds the reader 
many times throughout the pages that while man 
is striving to find out the laws which govern the 
behaviour of matter in space, there is a greater 
