THE PRINCIPLES OF HORTICULTURE 415 



not easy to see what is gained by such an entry as that of Stellaria 

 palustris, where the statement " all the records are probably 

 errors " is followed by the records of three correspondents for 

 three separate localities. 



We can only hope> that succeeding parts of the Flora, if it be 

 continued, will be conducted on different lines, and that care will 

 be taken to include records only from those who are at least able 

 to discriminate between our common Cerastiums and to identify 

 correctly plants so distinct as Stellaria palustris. On the present 

 lines, the only result of the work will be to increase the in- 

 accuracies and uncertainties created by Storrie's Flora of Cardiff. 

 It is only fair to say that Prof. Trow's own records and observa- 

 tions show that he is a competent and careful observer, but 

 even in his portion we find things that surprise us — the inclusion 

 of Pceonia, for example, although it is rightly stated to be a Somer- 

 set plant, and the designation of Corydalis lutea as "rupestral." 



The Principles of Horticulture. By Wilfred Mark Webb, F.L.S. 



London : Blackie & Son. 



If Mr. Webb had set himself the task of writing a book on 

 elementary botany, with a spice of entomology and a little nature 

 study, the little book before us would have had some reason for its 

 existence. But when the author tells us that he has written 

 ''primarily for the benefit of those engaged " in practical horti- 

 culture, we fear he fails to justify his text. The principles of 

 horticulture seem to be conspicuous by their absence, and certainly 

 no attempt is made to explain the scientific reasons underlying 

 some of the most common garden practices. The mere examina- 

 tion of the parts and tissues of a plant is not horticulture but 

 botany, and some of the very best cultivators in the kingdom 

 would find a difficulty perhaps in describing the plants they grow 

 in strictly botanical language. If Mr. Webb had been trained as 

 a gardener he would probably be in a better position to teach the 

 " principles of horticulture," and to appreciate what gardeners, as 

 gardeners, desire to know. But it is a mistake to think that the 

 botanist pure and simple can ever hope to explain the numerous 

 phenomena that gardeners are accustomed to meet with almost 

 every day. It is true that "rule of thumb" methods obtain to a 

 certain extent even in these days amongst some gardeners, who 

 care little as to why they perform this operation or that ; but 

 their number is steadily decreasing. The intelligent gardener 

 knows that all his practice is based on a solid scientific basis, and 

 he therefore knows exactly why he drains his pots, mixes his com- 

 posts, shades his cuttings, syringes his plants, ventilates his 

 greenhouses or frames, and endeavours to maintain certain tem- 

 peratures. These are important points that Mr. Webb would 

 have done well to explain ; as it is, he has, as we have already 

 said, merely produced a conglomeration of elementary botany, 

 entomology, and what is termed "nature study" — the present 



craze of many so-called educationists. 



J. W. 



