40 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



the best of his surroundings and at the same time to fit him to 

 take up the more serious work of farming should his situation 

 make this desirable. The work centers in the school garden 

 and is planned to cover the spring semester. The book is an 

 octavo of 300 pages and has nearly 200 illustrations. Owing 

 to the fact that it deals with all the fundamentals of plant 

 growing, it is believed that the book will prove a valuable 

 garden manual for the general reader. 



Books on weeds are much less abundant than the im- 

 portance of the subject would seem to warrant. There is, to 

 be sure, a long list of state and government publications on 

 single weeds and weeds in groups, on how they harm crops 

 and how to eradicate them, and many kindred subjects, but of 

 books that deal with the subject in all its phases, there is some- 

 thing of a dearth. A few books of the kind have appeared, 

 however, and one of the best of these is L. H. Pammel's 

 "Weeds of the Farm and Garden" published by the Orange 

 Judd Company. About half of the 275 pages in the book are 

 devoted to descriptions of our weeds with notes on their dis- 

 tribution, abundance, hatitats and uses, if any. In the first 

 half cf the book, the harmfulness of weeds is discussed, their 

 means of dispersal described, and the best methods of eradicat- 

 ing them outlined. In addition to being a thorough guide 

 to the destruction of weeds, it is also a handy manual by means 

 of which the cultivator can readily identify any new weed that 

 may make its appearance in his fields. 



