1922,.] 



Notices of Hooks. 



ls«.i 



relation to otlier farms similarly situated. Fqi thi.- gufpose i: ia more 

 important that the systems of costing pursued should be uniform than that 

 they should he defensible in every detail on purely theorejtfosj] grounds, 



One of the matters as to which further experience has led the author to 

 modify his views, relates to the trouble and expense involved in keeping £OB( 

 accounts. "There is, however," he states, "a degree of exactness required in 

 cost determinations which may be so troublesome ;md mi e.\j <nsi\ e of time 

 and labour .... that it would not be profitable for the ordinary farmer.' 

 "But," as he properly goes on to say, "this. . . .does not affect the 

 importance of having .... an exhaustive and scientific analvsis of 

 fanning costs . . . . on a number of typical farms." In this connection 

 attention may also be drawn to Appendix I, which suggests an "Alternative 

 Basis for Cost Determination." The system outlined therein, if successful, 

 goes far to meet the objection that costing on the approved principles described 

 in the body of the treatise is too expensive for adoption by the " ordinary farmer." 

 One misses, it may be said, the refreshingly pungent criticisms of other writers- 

 on the subject of costs with which the first edition closed. A.B.B. 



Fruit Farming" : Practical and Scientific. —(Cecil H. Hooper. 

 London : The Lockwood Press. Price 6s. net.) The Second Edition of this 

 book which has now been published covers a wide field by including articles 

 on most subjects of importance to the commercial fruit grower. Many of the 

 articles have been written by Mr. Cecil Hooper, who has had experience of 

 fruit growing in this country and Canada, while others have been written by 

 well-known practical growers. 



The information, which is essentially of a practical nature, has been given 

 in a condensed form readily understood by the average grower to whom this 

 little book should appeal. H.Y.T. 



Agricultural Geology.— (Frederick V. Emerson, Ph.D., late Professor 

 of Geology and Geologist for the State Experimental Station, Louisiana State 

 University : pp. 319, 16s. 6d. net : Chapman and Hall.) This volume is 

 suitable for University students of agriculture, but is too wide in scope and 

 too advanced in character for those attending Farm Institutes. It should, 

 however, find a place in the library of the latter. Obviously intended for the 

 American student, it deals with soils and conditions which, in many cases, are 

 unfamiliar to the British agriculturist. The portion dealing with the residual 

 soils of various rocks, and with inherited soils, is very interesting, giving the 

 causes of their agricultural value, and explaining many phenomena puzzling 

 to the observer who is more agriculturist than geologist. Further, the 

 chapter on the part played by wind in geological formations is as attractive 

 as the account of the methods employed in binding the shifty soils mosl 

 affected. Mention must be made of the discussion on " ground water," the 

 facts in connection with which are perhaps not generally realised, while the 

 account of alluvial terraces and the alluvial deposits of flowing water are also 

 of interest. Glaciation and glacial soils are subjects very well illustrated ; 

 indeed, the photographs and diagrams throughout the volume arrest the eye 

 and make particularly valuable those portions which the British student can 

 read with advantage. A chapter on the mineral fertilisers, and their 

 occurrence in nature, adds to the value and interest of the volume. 



