6 INA TOGNE: 
through the bottle or through the cork (the corks, it 
should be remembered, were almost always covered with 
resin outside), was disposed of, as most of us believed for 
ever, by Jerdon thirty-two years ago, when he pointed 
out that liquors bottled in England were never impreg- 
nated. This view has been confirmed by later observers, 
amongst others by McMaster and Sterndale. When 
Indian-bottled beer or wine was tainted, the mischief was 
doubtless due to the use of dirty bottles or contaminated 
corks. 
But even on subjects apart from zoology, Mr. Thorn- 
hill’s information cannot always be trusted. Thus, on 
p- 213, he discusses the signification of the names Siwalik 
(or as he writes the word Shewalic) and Himalaya. 
Incidentally (p. 212) he states that the Siwaliks are of a 
different geological formation from the Himalayas, which 
is correct, and that they are considered to be of far greater 
antiquity, which is the reverse of the fact. Then he pro- 
ceeds to remark that the name Siwalik is properly the 
designation of the entire Himalaya west of the Ganges, 
and as such is used invariably by the native historians ; he 
quotes the story from one of the latter, that the term is 
derived from two Hindi words sewa and Jac (thrice 
misprinted /ae), meaning one and a quarter lakhs or 
125,000, and that this denotes the number of peaks, and 
he states that Himalaya signifies the “‘ Necklace of Snow.” 
On questions of this kind Yule and Burnell’s Glossary or 
“Hobson-Jobson” is a generally admitted authority, and 
a reference to it shows how incorrect Mr. Thornhill’s 
account is. The origin of the term Siwalik is doubtful, 
but by the earlier native historians of India the name 
was not applied to the Himalayas at all, but to a tract of 
country much further to the southward ; the story about 
125,000 peaks is absurd, and the name Himalaya is 
derived, according to Sanscrit scholars, from za snow 
and a/aya an abode, and not from Aza and mala a 
necklace. ; 
One extract more must be given. Some of the sub- 
jects above mentioned may be regarded as matters of 
opinion, but the last quotation to be made betrays a 
want of acquaintance with elementary astronomy sur- 
prising in a man of good education. No comment is 
necessary except that all India is in the northern 
hemisphere, and that in the countries referred to in the 
work before us the pole star is from twenty-five to about 
thirty degrees above the horizon. At p. 100 there is the 
following paragraph ; the italics are, of course, not in the 
original. 
“The constellations are not quite the same as those we 
see in England: ¢hose that in England lie far to the 
north are here invisible, while we look on many that in 
England never rise above the southern horizon.” 
Wiha: 
ALPINE GARDENING. 
Die Alpen Pflanzen in der Gartenkultur der Tiefldnder. 
Ein Leitfaden fiir Gartner und Gartenfreunde. 
Erich Wocke. Pp. xi + 257. (Berlin: 
Schmidt, 1898.) 
HIS work is apparently written with a view to 
do for German gardeners and lovers of alpine 
flowers what Mr. William Robinson’s “ Alpine Flowers 
NO. 1540, VOL 60] 
Von 
Gustav 
{May 4, 1899 
for English Gardens” (published in 1870, but long since 
out of print) has accomplished for their British coz/fréres. 
Indeed, the author has treated his subject on somewhat 
similar lines. He is head gardener at the Ziirich 
Botanic Gardens, and enjoys the great advantage of 
being able to study alpine plants in their natural 
conditions. 
Nowadays every one is more or less interested in the 
cultivation of alpine plants, but comparatively few know 
how to grow them successfully, or to make suitable 
miniature Alps—popularly known as “ Rock Gardens ”— 
so as to resemble natural conditions at low elevations. 
Time was when heaps of clinkers and boulders of bricks 
thrown together anyhow were proudly designated as 
“rockeries.” People know more about these things now,, 
and those who do not, but would like to, may peruse 
with advantage the treatise under notice. 
Mr. Wocke has dealt with the cultivation, propagation, 
and most suitable treatment for Alpine plants in a 
thoroughly practical manner, and German gardeners at 
least can no longer complain of the want of a good 
book on this subject. The reader is made acquainted 
with the conditions under which the various plants 
thrive naturally, so that he may know precisely how to 
treat a plant coming from a certain region or elevation. 
Plants that love the glare of the sun, or the shadow of a 
rock, or the moist, mossy bank of the mountain torrent,. 
obviously require somewhat different cultural treatment ; 
and the most successful gardener is he who endeavours 
to imitate nature as closely as possible. 
The construction of the rockery is a most important 
matter, and the author rightly deals with it at some 
length. As a rule, horizontal fissures for the roots of 
plants should be avoided, being contrary to the natural 
downward direction taken by these organs. The reader 
may obtain a good idea of what a rockery should be like 
from the one in the Royal Gardens, Kew, although here, 
curiously enough, the natural state of things has been 
cleverly turned upside down, without however, producing 
unpleasant effects. Thus on the summit of the rocks— 
or miniature Alps—the tallest plants are placed, while 
at the base the dwarf and stunted forms luxuriate. As. 
Mr. Wocke points out, plants have a tendency to become 
dwarfer and more stunted in growth the higher they 
ascend the mountain side. 
A valuable list of the best Alpine and sub-Alpine 
plants is given, with indications as to their native 
habitats, and the conditions most suitable for them under 
cultivation. In addition, special lists of plants adapted 
for particular situations are given, so that the reader 
may see at a glance which kinds will thrive in, say,, 
moist or dry, warm or cool, sunny or shady positions. 
The last chapter in the book is devoted to rectifying 
the nomenclature of certain more or less well-known, 
plants, but that is a matter which concerns the botanist 
more than the gardener. 
On the whole, Mr. Wocke’s book, which is illustrated 
by twenty-two explanatory woodcuts and four photo- 
graphs of rock gardens (at Newton Abbot, by the way), 
is a welcome addition to the literature on Alpine garden- 
ing. With one or two trifling printer’s errors in the 
botanical names, the work bears traces of having been 
carefully edited. JOHN WEATHERS. 
