BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, ETC. 127 



were collected by Adanson ; " the earliest record of a plant for the 

 colony is in Dillen's Hon. FMham. p. 369, t. 227, f. 358 (1732), where 

 Spermacoce globosa Schum. & Thonn. is described from cultivated 

 specimens under the name of Spermacoce verticillis globosis. A 

 specimen is preserved in Dillen's herbarium at Oxford." 



The news of the sudden death at San Remo on Jan. 28 of Otto 

 Kuntze, in his sixty-fourth year, will come as a surprise to those who 

 have so lately received his latest brochure issued in January, and 

 bearing the portentous and characteristic title, " Motivierte Ableh- 

 nung der angeblich voin Wiener Kongress 1905 angenommenen in- 

 kompetenten und fehlerreichen botanischen Nonienklatur-Regeln, 

 sowie Vorschlage zur international endgtiltigen Reform auf dem 

 Briisseler Kongress 1910." Dr. Kuntze, who is chiefly known as a 

 leading polemic in matters relating to nomenclature, and in whom 

 the suaviter in modo cannot be said to have accompanied the fortiter 

 in re, was a systematic botanist of no mean ability in 1867. His 

 earliest books, published in that year, were a Flora of Leipzig and 

 a critical revision of German Rubi which was followed in 1879 by 

 Methodik der Speciesbeschreibimg und Rubns — an elaborate work. He 

 also monographed Cinchona and Clematis, and his most important 

 work — the Revisio Generum (1891-98) — contains numerous descrip- 

 tions of new species obtained during his travels in South America 

 and elsewhere, when he made large collections. But it is in con- 

 nection with the revision of nomenclature that his name will chiefly 

 be remembered, and it is to be regretted that the intolerance of 

 his views and the intemperance of the language in which they were 

 stated led to a somewhat insufficient appreciation of his labour and 

 research. This Journal, in which several of his papers have 

 appeared, has always recognized the importance of his work, not- 

 withstanding obvious shortcomings in taste and temper; the Lexicon 

 which, in conjunction with Dr. von Post, he published in 1904, 

 should, as we said when reviewing it, find a place in every botanical 

 library. 



Two very pretty little halfcrown (net) books come to us from 

 Mr. T, N. Foulis of Edinburgh, belonging to " The Garden Lovers' 

 Series. 1 ' The first— A Garden of Pleasant Flowers— consists of 

 descriptions of the most familiar garden flowers from Parkinson's 

 Paradisus, compiled and arranged by Mr. Alfred H. Hyatt. We 

 have often thought and said that such a selection might well be 

 made, if only on account of the delightful English written by 

 Parkinson and most authors of his time, and here it has been well 

 made. The epistle to the reader, and a small part of the introduc- 

 tion on M The Ordering of the Garden of Pleasure M — not, we think, 

 the best part — are prefixed to the selections. "Pandisi" on the 

 title-page is an unfortunate misprint. The other volume, also 

 edited by Mr. Hyatt, is Reid's Scots Gardner (1683), to which Lord 

 Rosebery contributes an " appreciation." In each of these books 

 the original spelling is preserved, which in some way not easy to 

 define adds greatly to their attractiveness. They are beautifully 

 printed and suitably bound and cheap, and in these garden-loving 

 days are sure to have the sale which they deserve. 



