45^ 



NA TURE 



[October 14, 1909 



various cacti are included because of their peculiar 

 character, while the tulip tree and tree of heaven recall 

 the plantations which beautify so many German 

 towns. 



(4, 5, 6) The next three volumes of which the titles 

 appear above are units in a series of neat brochures 

 dealing with all branches of knowledge. The pub- 

 lishers are entitled to great credit for bringing out 

 such a series at the modest price of one mark per 

 volume, as they have enlisted competent authors to 

 deal with the various subjects. It may, however, be 

 suggested that some of the volumes deal with sub- 

 jects of too extensive a nature to be satisfactorily 

 compressed within the limits permitted. The account 

 of phanerogams, a systematic compendium, prepared 

 by Drs. E. Gilg and R. Muschler, provides a case in 

 point. About 120 families are dealt with in as many 

 pages, with the result that there is only a bare refer- 

 ence to the botanical characters of each family, while 

 the space is occupied by a mere enumeration of the 

 more important plants and their properties. The same 

 criticism applies to the volume on cryptogams, 

 in which Dr. Mobius has made good use 

 of the space at his disposal, but it is evident 

 that each of the four groups of algse, fungi, 

 mosses, or ferns might with advantage have 

 been taken separately. The cultivation of plants in 

 living rooms and on balconies is a subject better suited 

 to these small volumes, on which Mr. P. Dannenberg 

 provides an interesting and useful book, essentially 

 German as regards the minuteness of detail. Advice 

 is given on methods of arrangement, ornamental pots, 

 watering, pruning, transplanting, and propagation ; 

 also a useful list is supplied of plants suitable for 

 growing at different seasons and under different con- 

 ditions. Precise, accurate, and well arranged, the 

 book admirably fulfils its purpose. 



(7) A different type of floricultural book is that issued 

 by Messrs. Clay and Son, primarily intended to adver- 

 tise their special manures. The list of contributors 

 includes IMessrs. J. Hudson, J. Douglas, J. Udale, 

 H. J. Wright, and E. H. Jenkins, who contribute 

 articles on fruit-culture, carnations, begonias, sweet- 

 peas, daffodils, and lilies. Sections are devoted to 

 vegetable cultivation, indoor gardening, rock gardens, 

 and garden pests. The volume contains much prac- 

 tical information for the cultivator, and more par- 

 ticularly for the grower of produce. 



(8) It is not very long since Dr. Cavers produced a 

 very successful elementary botanical text-book under 

 the title of " Plant Biology," in which he indicated the 

 methods adopted with his classes, and outlined a large 

 number of experiments intended to instruct the student 

 by his own personal observation and experiment. The 

 success of this book and of " Life-histories of Common 

 Plants " has presumably led to the compilation of the 

 volume now under notice, which in many respects 

 resembles the earlier books. Physiology is made the 

 groundwork of preliminary study and explanatory of 

 morphology; classification is dealt with in the descrip- 

 tions of selected families, and a chapter is devoted to 

 ecology. The range of the book is very much wider 

 than is necessary for a matriculation course, although 



NO. 2085, VOL. 81] 



this is no disadvantage, as a teacher can select the 

 portions immediately necessary. At the same time, 

 many of the chemical and physical paragraphs might J| 

 have been omitted, also the final chapter on the uses | 

 of plants. Apart from these criticisms, the book 

 deserves the highest commendation, chiefly because the 

 author conveys his information in a precise and well- 

 ordered manner. The numerous experiments scat- 

 tered through the text are admirably chosen to illus- 

 trate the points under discussion or observation, and 

 for the most part require only simple apparatus. 



(g) There is always a fund of originality in any 

 book written by Prof. L. H. Bailey, and teachers 

 will meet with not a few fresh ideas in his latest 

 production. The opening is original, although Dar- 

 winian, that no two plants or parts are alike, that 

 there is a struggle for life, and that the fittest survive; 

 then follow chapters on plant societies and the plant 

 body, after which ensues the ordinary gamut of elemen- 

 tary morphology, but treated in a fresh and inviting 

 fashion. Another essential feature, also characteristic 

 of the author's style, is the concise method of indicat- 

 ing facts or points without superfluous details ; and 

 finally it will be observed that the author introduces 

 practical examples, so far as possible, as in the excel- 

 lent chapter on bud propagation. The illustrations 

 are bold, practical, and artistic. The studies in crypto- 

 gams, forming almost an appendix, do not make a 

 very desirable addition, as they are perforce scrappy 

 and introduce facts altogether beyond the scope of a 

 beginner. 



(10) The elementary practical book prepared by Mr. Aj 

 Clarke begins with external morphology and passes W' 

 on to physiology, with the inclusion of chapters on 

 soil, garden vegetation, distribution and cell structure. 

 The experiments are collated in a separate part, and 

 some account is given of selected flowering plants. 

 Appendices are devoted to hints on the microscope and 

 certain principles of chemistry and physics. It is 

 apparent that the author has attempted to compress 

 too much material into the book, more especially as 

 he does not display that happy faculty of expression 

 which combines conciseness with brevity ; further, the 

 information is somewhat ill-assorted, and there is a 

 tendency to introduce ideas which are only partially 

 relevant to the subject under discussion. There are 

 also some inaccuracies, as in the use or explanation 

 of various terms, such as pollarding, block, sucker, 

 ivy root-tendrils and monosexual. 



CLkY WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES. 



History of the Clayworking Industry in the United 

 States. By Dr. H. Ries and H. Leighton. Pp. 

 ix + 270. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; 

 London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1909.) Price 

 10s. 6d. net. 



FEW realise the important role played by clay in the 

 industries. It certainly ranks not lower than 

 fourth in the value of its production in the mineral 

 industries of the world, and it is only exceeded by 

 iron and coal, and possibly copper. Very few indus- 

 tries, too, are not dependent in some way upon clay 



