SCIENCE- G OSSIF. 



335 



NOTICES BY JOHN T. CARRINGTON. 



Old Time Gardens. By Alice Morse Earle. 

 xviii + 489 pjD., 8 in. x 6 in., with numerous illus- 

 trations and plates. (New York and London : 

 Macmillan & Co. 1902.) 8s. 6d. 



This charming work must appeal to all lovers of 

 flowers and gardens. It has been produced with 

 great taste, and the illastrations alone are worth 

 the expenditure of the price of the book. The 

 gardens described mostly belong to New England, 

 many of them having been planted and tended by 

 the immediate descendants of the little band of 

 Puritan men and women who, under the leader- 

 .ship of John Winthrop, were the founders of 

 the City of Boston, U.S.A. It was only natural 

 that the home-sick emigrants should, immediately 

 they had leisure, try to create a resemblance to the 

 fair English homes they had left hj planting seeds 

 and roots of English flowers in the " old country " 

 fashion. Many of these •' old time gardens " of a 

 far-off country are therefore twin sisters to those 

 with which we are so familiar in the manor 

 grounds of English villages. We would especially 

 call the attention of our readers to the quaint 

 device on the title page, which is an ancient 

 •' garden-knot " for flowers taken from " A New 

 Orchard and Garden," by William Lawson, 1G08. 

 The authoress must have devoted much time and 

 careful preparation before writing this book, and 

 we sincerely hope some lover of gardens willsee 

 his way to producing a work on similar lines on 

 those of " Old England."— i^. W. 



Bird Hunting on the lV7iite Nile. By Harry 

 F. WiTHERBY. 117 pp., 8J in. x 5f in., with 

 several illustrations. (London : " Knowledge " 

 Office. 1902.) 2s. 6d. 



Besides the useful additions to our knowledge 

 of the ornithology of the Soudan, Mr. Witherby 

 lias succeeded in placing before his readers a 

 pleasantly written description of his travels and 

 adventures. The work is copiously illustrated from 

 photographs taken by Mr. F. C. Camburn, who 

 accompanied the author as taxidermist, and also 

 by some wash drawings made from photographs 

 taken by Mr. Witherby. Although unable to 

 obtain many mammals in the district explored, the 

 author has added three new species to those 

 already known. Lists of all mammals and birds 

 obtained have been added to the book as appen- 

 dices. With a few alterations the chapters are 

 reprinted from " Knowledge," in which journal 

 they appeared as articles during 1901. 



Atlas of Practical Zootomy. By G. B. Howes. 

 LL.D., F.R.S., with 24 plates. 12 in. x 9 in. 

 (London and New York : Macmillan & Co. 1902.) 

 10s. net. 



This is a revised edition of Dr. Howes's well- 

 known Atlas of Zootomy. It is founded on the 

 Huxleian " Type System," and consists of a series 

 of beautifully drawn plates, with two pages each 



of explanatory letterpress. This atlas is too well 

 known to require special commendation. 



Food and Drugs. By Charles Higginson. 

 XX + 203 i3p., Ih in. x 5 in. (London: Effingham 

 Wilson. 1902.)" 3s. 6d. net. 



The object of the author in the work before us is 

 to consolidate in a readable form the four Acts at 

 present in operation in connection with the selling 

 of food and drugs. Legislation in this respect 

 having been somewhat piecemeal, it is not easy ta 

 understand the relation of one Act to another 

 without the aid of some work of this description. 

 Reports of test cases are given in some instances 

 to illustrate the exact meaning of a clause. Mr. 

 Higginson's method has been to take the Act of 1875 

 and embody the provisions of subsequent Acts in it, 

 so that the reader may see at a glance how far 

 they modify or enlarge its operation. The four 

 Acts are printed in full at the end of the work, as 

 well as the General Orders issued by the Local 

 Government Board. The volume before us is the 

 second edition, and has been efficiently brought up 

 to date. Mr. Higginson may be congratulated on 

 having brought out a handbook which will afEord 

 valuable assistance to all traders in food and drugs, 

 whether wholesale or retail. 



Nature's Mysteries. By A. P. SiNNETT. 7| in. x 



5 in., 184 pp. (London and Benares : Theosophical 

 Publishing Society. 1901.) 2s. 



The volume before us consists, with a few modifi- 

 cations and additions, of a series of articles that 

 recently appeared in the " Sun " newspaper. The 

 author has endeavoured to show that investigation 

 along recognised lines of scientific research will, if 

 sufficiently extended, lead to an explanation of many 

 mysteries now ranked as supernatural. He further 

 maintains that it is impossible to properly study 

 the invisible world of consciousness without having 

 at least a groundwork of knowledge of the physical 

 aspect of matter, as one constantly meets with 

 analogies between the two. Mr. Sinnett states that 

 as it is ]Dossible for the Rontgen rays to pass freely 

 through masses of atoms such as flesh, which until 

 recently were considered impenetrable, so it is 

 equally feasible for clairvoyants to be able to see 

 through matter, read letters enclosed in envelopes, 

 and such like phenomena. The book is one well 

 worth reading, as it suggests many new ideas, and 

 is written in an easy, fluent style. We cannot, 

 however, agree with the author in many of his con- 

 clusions, especially that with regard to the " Story 

 of Atlantis." We also think that in writing of the 

 Druids as "not much better than savages," Mr 

 Sinnett has not devoted the same amount of time 

 to the study of their history, as to such subjects as 

 spiritualism and clairvoyance. 



The Flora of Derbyshire. By the Rev. W. H. 

 Painter. Ill pp., 9 in. x 5^ in. (Leeds: Chorley 



6 Pickersgill. 1902.) 3s. 6d. net. 



It will be remembered that in 1889 Mr. Painter 

 issued his " Contribution to the Flora of Derby- 

 shire." This little work now ofEered is supple- 

 mentary, and contains a considerable amount of 

 information that has been accumulated in the 

 interval by resident botanists and others. A large 

 proportion of this supplement is devoted to the 

 Derbyshire mosses, which are a lengthy list. 



Thomas Henry Huxley. By Edward Clodd. 

 xiii + 226 pp., 7f x 5 in. (Edinburgh and London : 

 Blackwood & Sons. 1902.) 2s. 6d. 



This is an addition to the series of "Modem 



