June 15, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



389 







OTICES OF BOOKS 



in their order of 



Woo 





Wayside, and Wa 



The name of the author of this work is so 

 closely connected in the minds of garden lovers 

 with all that is rare and beautiful among the 

 Alpine flora, that it is somewhat of a surprise to 

 find his pen dealing with the plants of such 

 tame and unpromising hunting-grounds as those 

 suggested by the title of this book. But 

 hedges and walks even are often veritable rock- 

 gardens filled with charming plants, and woods 

 and meadows afford better examples of lovely 

 grouping and beauty of colour and form than any 

 horticultural exhibition, however vast its spread 

 of canvas. When we realise that under this com- 

 prehensive title the author is able to deal with 



the plants are described 



flowering or fruiting, and are grouped together 

 somewhat as they might be encountered in walks 

 among their natural surroundings of wood, rock, 

 or marsh. The fourth chapter brings us nearer 

 to our gardens ; part of it is given over to descrip- 

 tions of flower-supporting walls and advice as to 

 their planting, and the rest is devoted to the 

 garden and its joys. The 100 coloured plate 

 which illustrate this book are singularly beau- 

 tiful. The faithful colouring and the accurac; 

 of drawing of the plants render each a veritable 

 portrait, and though great care has been expended 

 on details of structure and botanical characters, 

 yet each panel is treated with such artistic 



breadth and harmony that a delightful picture 



results. 



The boldness and originality of some of the back- 

 grounds are remarkable. For instance, the flam- 



such jptart. a„ p y „las, E pil obiu m rosm ar ia i. tog !££*£ 7^,.^£?ZnZ* * 



I 



FlG. 187. — ROCK-GARDEN EXHIBITED AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION BY 



MESSRS. J. BACKHOUSE AND SON, LTD. 



(See p. xiv. of Exhibition Supplement in the issue for May 25.) 



loiium, Colchicum autumnale, Genista sagittalis, 

 Dianthus sylvestris, Aster Amellus, Coronilla 

 vana, Orchids, Anemone, Hepatica, Corydalis 

 cava, Leucojum vernum, and Scilla bifolia, we see 

 chances for a charming book. Nor are these dainty 

 inhabitants of our borders the only wild weeds of 

 ma country singled out for notice. Nothing is so 

 common or so small in expanse of corolla as to be 

 excluded, and the easy style of writing and deep 

 and curious knowledge of folklore of the homes 

 and peculiarities of the plants M. Correvon writes 

 give to even the commonest a certain 



Sv pT • * and interest ' So Coltsfoot and 

 Wil PIain . tai ?> GarKc, Mustard, and Dandelion 



four ?fc e ! m th ^ b00k - The ^ is divided into 

 of Ji apte ^ tt*ee dealing with the seasons 

 s Pnng, summer and autumn, in which 



^^^Cont^v-^J 90 ^ deS **& et des murs. 



J correvon. Price 15s. (Albert Kundig, Geneve ) 



hind the blue heads of Cichorium Intybus, or the 

 vivid autumn tints of fallen Beech leaves behind 

 the crimson and orange berries of Euonymus 

 europaeus, Asperula odorata, and Impatiens 

 Noli-me-tangere. The quieter greys and blues are 

 equally successful, however, and the twin panels 

 of Nut and Sallow catkins are wonderfully clever 

 and pleasing. Mdlle. Rivier deserves special 

 praise for her skill in representing shining berries 

 and leaves; the translucency and shimmering 

 glitter of her plate of Tamus communis is a good 

 example, but it is well shown also in Viburnum 

 Lantana, Solanum Dulcamara, and the fruit of 

 the Dog Rose. 



For delicacy of treatment in a quiet scheme of 

 colour it would be hard to improve upon the full- 

 page plate of Clematis Vitalba, or that of Silaus 

 pratensis. The wish may be expressed that, in 

 spite of having already published so much on 



Alpine plants, M. Correvon will speedily produce 

 a book in which his pen and Mdlle. Rivier'a 

 brush will give us unfading records of the fleeting 

 beauty of the plants of higher Alpine regions tiian 

 those dealt with in this collection. E. A. U. 



The Small Holders Handbook.* 



The literature of small holdings is voluminous; 

 yet there is room for this handbook, in the pio- 

 duction of which the editor has been assisted by 

 many specialists, because it goes more fully into 

 the details of the several divisions of the industry 

 of the small holder than most other works of the 

 kind. The method of obtaining a small holding 

 from a landowner or from a county council is first 

 clearly described. The subjects of working a. 

 holding and marketing the produce are some- 

 what misplaced, inasmuch as they are put before- 

 the equipment with cottages and farm buildings. 

 The section on the latter subject is the weakest 

 part of the volume, and practical information as 

 to the cheap construction of the few farm build- 

 ings required to be erected by the holder would 

 be particularly valuable. By the way, the advice 

 to build a bain, using the term in the usual 

 sense, is questionable. Such lofty and costly 

 buildings as barns may be regarded as relics 

 of old times, when Corn was stored and 

 threshed by hand during the winter. A 

 food -preparing house is all that the small holder 

 needs in place of a barn. In relation to the 

 marketing of produce, although due emphasis i* 

 given to the advantages of co-operation, it is. 

 satisfactory to note that emphasis is laid 

 also on the great advantage of selling produce,. 

 00 far as possible, directly to housekeepers. 

 No system of co-operative selling for the whole- 

 sale markets can be nearly so profitable as 

 direct sale at retail prices. The common 

 breeds of cattle and pigs are described, and 

 dairying, pig breeding and feeding are dealt 

 with thoroughly, as also are poultry, goats r 

 rabbits and bees. In treating of fruit, the editor 

 puts grading, packing, and preserving before 

 planting and such details of culture as are given. 

 The advice to plant only four varieties of 

 Apples cannot be endorsed, as this number is not 

 sufficient to keep up a supply for the season, a 

 matter of much importance to the small holder 

 who sells his produce by retail. It is not to- 

 be expected in a small book that fun details of 

 the training and pruning of fruit can be 

 given. The recommendation to plant Raspberries 

 6 feet apart each way is curious, for 5 feet by 

 2 feet are the common distances in market 

 plantations. As to spraying, the chief objec- 

 tion to the directions is that proprietary 

 washes of unknown constituents are mainly re- 

 commended. Culinary vegetables and a few of 

 the popular market flowers are dealt with satis- 

 factorily. The book is profusely illustrated. 

 Southern Grower. 



For the Ignorant, f 



This is an unpretentious book, produced to 

 meet the disabilities of those who, with earthy 

 tastes, are yet so ignorant of the simplest details 

 of gardening that no book with which the authors 

 have made acquaintance is of any use in pointing 

 out how to make a beginning and how to proceed 

 once the initial eteps had been taken. The work 

 is divided into 13 chapters, one for each month 

 of the year and one for the greenhouse, with a 

 pleasantly-written introduction by Mrs. Earle. 

 Anything of value in the book has often been; 

 published before, and what is novel — such as 

 sowing Onions in drills at 4 inches apart — would 

 have been better omitted. The best chapters are 

 those for October, November, and December, but 

 throughout the volume there is a certain amount 

 of loose writing, and the varieties of plants re- 

 commended are not always the best. 



* The Small Holder's Handbook, by W. M. Elkin^ton 

 (London : L. Upcott Gill.) 3s. 6d. 3 '' 



i#-* Garjtning for the Ignorant, by Mrs. C. W. Earle and 

 Miss Ethel Case. (Loudon: Macmillan&Co., Ltd.) Is. net. 



