45 



part of the working library of every careful taxonomist. In its 

 general concept and spirit it may well serve as a model for 

 future systematic research. 



H. A. Gleason 

 New York Botanical Garden 



A new one-volume encyclopedia for gardeners^ 



All growers and lovers of plants will find this volume a 

 treasure house of information. Every variety of plant cultivated 

 in the United States for ornament or for food, as well as most 

 others of economic importance and a large number of native 

 wild flowers, trees and shrubs are given a place here. Arranged 

 alphabetically, the plants are listed under both common and 

 scientific names. For each plant there is a description concise 

 but complete enough, especially as many are illustrated by 

 excellent line drawings, following this are directions for cultiva- 

 tion, lists of fungus and insect enemies with methods of control, 

 and brief descriptions of the species or varieties in cultivation. 



Little is said of the parts of the country where different 

 plants may be expected to grow% mention being made merely to 

 hardy or not hardy north, needs much or little water, acid or 

 alkaline soil, etc. Most of the book is of course taken up with 

 descriptions of plants, but besides there are articles on almost 

 any topic the gardener may desire to know about: injurious 

 insects and insecticides; fungi and fungicides; special methods 

 of propagation and culture; the construction of various types 

 of gardens and green houses; kinds of soil and their treatment; 

 fertilizers; dish, window and roof gardens and terraria; birds and 

 their relation to the garden and farm; and a hundred other 

 topics that may be of interest and value. Of birds, besides four 

 and a half pages describing their value in the gardens and means 

 of attracting them, nearly thirty of the more common ones of 

 the east are briefly described in a table giving the character- 

 istic color, markings, size, habits, habitats, nests, food and eco- 

 nomic status. Under the last head it is said of the starling: 

 "Highly valued as destroyer of harmful beetles and insects." 

 Certainly there are parts of the country where the starling by 



1 The Garden Encyclopedia, edited by E. L. D. Seymour. W. H. Wise and 

 Company, 1936. x-f-1300, 60 plates, numerous drawings. $4.00 



