1920.] 



Notices of Books. 



Sir Henry Rew is mainly concerned with the condition of agriculture 

 in Great Britain before, during, and after the War, from the point of 

 view of the farmer and the outlook of the consumer. He compares 

 very favourably the returns obtained from British agriculture with 

 those recorded in respect of the principal countries on the Continent, 

 and suggests that there are indications of a rapid recovery of agriculture 

 in Europe, following on the disturbing effect of the War, and that in 

 this recovery Great Britain will play no inconsiderable part. A chapter 

 of some length on the State control of food supplies during the War, 

 and a short concluding chapter on the personal factor in the agricultural 

 industry, are likely to be of particular interest to some readers in view 

 of the special qualilications of the author to speak on these subjects. 



The Fungral Diseases of the Common Larch. — W. E. Hiley (Oxford : 

 Clarendon Press, 1919, 125. 6d.), The great value of the larch tree is 

 known to all foresters, but its successful culture is always risky owing 

 to its extreme susceptibility to disease, especially Larch Canker. I\Iany 

 investigations have been carried out in the past and much has been 

 written, the bulk of which was useful and sound. The appearance of 

 a new book on the subject is of special interest, the more so since it is 

 the product of a well-known worker in the School of Forestry at Oxford, 

 and embodies the results of a special and critical study. 



The book covers the whole field of larch diseases, the dreaded 

 canker, the heart-rot diseases which are the cause of unsuspected 

 damage in apparently healthy trees, the Honey fungus and the leaf and 

 seedling diseases. Much space is devoted to causes predisposing the 

 plants to disease, and to cultural details. The chapters on canker deal 

 with the canker fungus, its growth in the tissues, its mode of entry, the 

 importance of wounds, and many other questions connected with the 

 subject. Perhaps the most important paragraphs are those in which 

 the author puts forward at length his views on the manner in which the 

 trees are naturally infected by the fungus, namely, through the small 

 dead lateral shoots. He is of opinion that the entry by means "^of 

 wounds, though frequent, has in the past been over-estimated. The 

 whole section on larch canker is of great importance and should be 

 widely read, 



"^Only second in interest are the chapters on heart-rots. These are 

 dealt with in detail and provide by far the fullest account available in 

 the English language. The most dangerous fungus of this group is 

 Fomes annosus, which is well known to give special trouble on land 

 planted with trees for the first time. A view previously put forward, 

 and here elaborated by the author, namely, that poor aeration of the 

 subsoil causes the death of the main anchor roots, thus laying them 

 open to attack by Fomes, is discussed, and appropriate preventive 

 measures are suggested. The general conclusion, however, is reached 

 that trees other than larch are more suitable for first rotation on agri- 

 cultural land. Chapters on the exceedingly destructive Honey fungus 

 and on the seedlmg and leaf diseases are also given, and the work 

 concludes with a general summarv in which many culturardetails are 

 discussed 



The work, which is freely illustrated, is a valuable and important 

 contribution to the literature of the subject. Its appearance is par- 

 ticularly opportune and should be carefully studied by all interested 

 in the cultivation of the larch. 



