SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



207 



The book is beautifully 

 "got up," the illustra- 

 tions are abundant and 

 for the greater part good; 

 the two we reproduce 

 by kind permission of 

 the publishers are good 

 examples of Mr. 

 Sterndale'swork. Home 

 naturalists will find 

 much that is refreshing 

 in the volume. — [E. S.] 



Our Secret Friends and 

 Foes. By Percy 

 Faraday Frankland, 

 Ph.D., B.Sc. (Lond.), 

 F.R.S., F.C.S., etc., 

 Professor of Chemistry 

 in Mason College, Bir- 

 mingham. A New 

 Edition, revised, with 

 additions (Romance of 

 Science Series). 



(London : Society for 

 Promoting Christian 

 Knowledge, Northum- 

 berland Avenue, W.C., 

 1S94.) Price 3s. 



We are glad to know 

 that Professor Frank- 

 land's admirable lectures 

 on micro - organisms 

 have been so well re- 

 ceived at the hands of the public that a second 

 edition has become necsssary. The unscientific 

 public is so often hearing about the dreaded 

 bacilli, spirilla and micrococci, without having 

 any very definite notions as to the forms and sizes of 

 these little monsters, that so clear and authoritative 

 an account of their natures and effects should meet 

 with a hearty welcome. Dr. Frankland deals with 

 his subject under the headings of — Micro-organisms 

 in Air — Micro-organisms in Water — Useful Micro- 

 organisms — Malignant Micro-organisms — The 

 Theory and Practice of Prevention in Disease — 

 and The Action of Light on Micro-organisms. 

 There is also an introductory chapter in which the 

 general characters and habits of the group are set 

 forth, and the fifty-one illustrations, though mostly 

 diagrammatic, are very helpful to the reader. — [E.S. | 



Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms : What to Eat and 

 What to Avoid. By M. C. Cooke, M.A., LL.D., 

 author of "Handbook of British Fungi," etc. 

 With eighteen coloured plates illustrating forty- 

 eight species. (London : Society for Promoting 

 Christian Knowledge. Northumberland Avenue, 

 W.C., 1894.) Price 3s. 6d. 



Dr. Cooke is becoming, if he has not already 

 become, the most voluminous writer upon fungi. 

 Certainly, no man has done as much to popularise 

 the study and the consumption of the larger kinds, 

 and we are therefore glad to find that in his most 

 recent work he is appealing — by means of its low 

 price — to a public that may have been deterred 

 from using his previous volumes Dr. Cooke's 

 method in the present instance is to divide his 

 book into two portions, the first restricted to 

 descriptions of the nine plates representing edible 

 species, and the second portion similarly dealing 

 with other nine plates of poisonous kinds. There 

 is a distinct advantage in this arrangement. People 

 are so likely to confuse the good with the bad, but 

 when they see boldly printed at the foot of each 



From " .-I Naturalist on the Prowl.'' 



plate " Edible " or " Poisonous " mushrooms, as the 

 case may be, there is little excuse for such mistakes. 

 We are also glad to see the name of each species 

 printed against the figures, instead of these being 

 merely numbered and the reader referred to a list 

 of figures at the end of the volume. Making all 

 allowance for the difficulties of adequately repre- 

 senting the delicate tints of natural objects without 

 very expensive printing, we think these plates are 

 upon the whole excellent for identifying purposes. 

 There is one little matter, however, we cannot 

 understand. In Dr. Cooke's "British Edible 

 Fungi," published three years ago, there is a 

 representation of Agaricus rubescens in which the 

 scaly patches on the pileus, left by the breaking-up 

 of the volva, have assumed a distinctly spherical 

 form, and they shine like pearls. Though the 

 species is re-drawn from an older individual, these 

 spheres reappear in this work. Has Dr. Cooke or 

 his artist ever seen such a form ? We have not, 

 though we have eaten many hundreds of A . rubescens. 

 In spite of this defect — which may be entirely due 

 to the colour-printer — the figure is one by which 

 the species would easily be identified. We have 

 said nothing of the letterpress, but remark on this 

 point is unnecessary when we have mentioned that 

 it is written by M. C. Cooke. We trust that through 

 the operations of the society that publishes it, this 

 book may speedily find its way into many village 

 libraries, where it is sadly needed. — [E.S.] 



Fruit Culture for Profit for Farmers, Small Holders, 

 Allotment Holders, Cottagers, etc. By C. B. White- 

 head, B.A. (London : Society for Promoting 

 Christian Knowledge, Northumberland Avenue, 

 W.C., 1894.) Price is. 



This is a plainly-written book of eighty-six pages, 

 with practical information of the most recent kind, 

 specially suited for that large class of small holders 

 now so rapidly on the increase. The treatment 

 most calculated to ensure a profitable crop of each 



