i88 BOOKS AND 



us, can read these pages without resolving to throw away 

 his coleus and achyranthes, and plant more enduring 

 and graceful plants in their stead. Some good accounts 

 are given of Newport Gardens, Dosoris, and the values 

 of various groups of plants. 



The Trees of Northeastern America. By Charles 

 S. New/ia/l. jjtiw. Pp. 2jO. lib Illustrations. Neiv 

 York: G. P. Piitiiani^s Sons. This book contains popu- 

 lar descriptions of all trees growing naturally or com- 

 monly in the northeastern states, or rather, the territory 

 included in "Canada and the northern United States 

 east of the Mississippi river." It is not clear what the 

 author means by the northern states ; it is certainly no* 

 the region of Gray's Manual, nor even the region bound- 

 ed southwards by the Ohio river, as species which come 

 within the latter range are omitted. We particularly 

 notice the absence of the pecan and of the true water- 

 oak (Qiwnits aqtiatica). The method of the book is ad- 

 mirable. Keys or guides to the species are founded en- 

 tirely upon obvious leaf characters, so 

 A Book that one need not be a botanist in order 



about Trees, to find the name of any tree. The illus- 

 trations, or rather diagrams, of leaves and 

 fruits are mostly very characteristic, although crude I 

 but there is occasionally one which is untrue, as those of 

 the fruit of the pawpaw and butternut. The descrip- 

 tions of the species are well arranged, and any one who 

 can read can understand them. We feel, how«ver, that 

 the attempt to find vernacular equivalents for botanical 

 terms is not always successful. We do not see that 

 "lance-shaped" is .any clearer or better than "lanceo- 

 late." The term is simply an arbitrary expression to 

 designate a certain form of leaf, and it is by no means 

 true that lanceolate leaves are lance-shaped, if lances of 

 modern days are used for the comparison ; and if lances 

 of other days are to be the measure, the reader is likely 

 to be confused We do not propose to quibble over 

 trifles, but we are strongly of the opinion that arbitrary 

 and conventional terms do not admit of translation. 

 Digitate leaves are certainly not "hand-shaped," not- 

 withstanding the etymology of the term, and obovate 

 leaves are not " inversely egg-shaped." And as a matter 

 of euphony and brevity, the older names certainly have 

 the preference. But Mr. Newhall's book is a good one, 

 and the faults, if they exist, are debatable ones. It is 

 certainly better to err in the endeavor to make one's self 

 understood than in an endeavor to be technical. Every 

 one who loves trees should have the book, and it will 

 prove a source of delight. 



The Missouri Botanical Garden, utno. Pp. i6j. 

 Illustrated, and containing a map. This beautiful volume 

 is a full collection of documents concern- 

 Missouri ing the history and aims of the botanic 

 Botanic gardens which have come so prominently 



Gardens. before the public during the last two 

 years. The collection includes a biogra- 

 phy of the founder, Henry Shaw, his will, first annual 

 report of the director, an account of the first annua! ban- 

 quet of the trustees, and various reports and addresses. 



BULLETINS. 



Numerous illustrations of unusual excellence grace the 

 volume. The book is a worthy inaugural of a great and 

 beneficent project. 



The Secrets of Canning. A Complete Exposition of 

 the Theory and Art of the Canning Industry . By Ernest 

 F. Schwaab. Pp. ijo. Baltimore : John Mtirphy Co. 

 {Price, $j. Supplied by Rural Publishing Co. ) The can- 

 ning industry is enormous, and it is essentially an Amer- 

 ican enterprise. "The wrappers, scattered all over the 

 world, are monuments to American enterprise, and tell 

 in a noiseless language the simple story of American 

 progress." The first authentic information concerning 

 the canning industry dates back only to 1810, when Appert 

 wrote a book upon the subject. " Now, i8go, the can- 

 ning industry has grown to immense proportions, num- 

 bering about 20,000 factories in operation, scattered over 

 the broad domain of forty-one states and 

 territories. Maryland leads in the num- The Canning 

 ber of factories, followed by Maine, Vir- Industry, 

 ginia. New York, New Jersey, Delaware, 

 California, Illinois, Alaska, Ohio, Pennsylvania. * * * 

 These factories give employment in various capacities to 

 1,000,000 persons during the canning season, while those 

 directly and indirectly concerned amount to 4,000,000 ; 

 they use the raw material, fruits, vegetables, etc., pro- 

 duced on 1 , 500,000 acres of land, thus furnishing a home 

 market for the products of 30,000 farms." It is a won- 

 der that all this industry has not been fully explained 

 long before this. The business has been purposely 

 guarded, no doubt. Mr. Schwaab's opportunity is there- 

 fore great. He has written what may be called a trade 

 book. It is devoted to descriptions of methods, estimates 

 of cost of plants for certain capacities, the canned-goods 

 laws of various states, and a list of packers in the United 

 States. It includes the whole canning industry — fruits, 

 vegetables, meats and fish. To the horticulturist, the 

 chief value of the book lies in chapters 3 and 4, which 

 treat of varieties of fruits and vegetables best suited to 

 canning, hints on cultivation, and prices paid, and pro- 

 cesses of putting-up. The book is everywhere terse and 

 clear. 



The New Onion Culture. A story for young and old, 

 which tells how to grow 2,000 bushels of fine bulbs on one 

 acre. By T. Greiner, La Salh\ y. Y. Pp. 62. Illustrated. 

 The " new onion culture ' is the transplanting of onions 

 from a cold-frame or hot-bed into the field. Mr. Greiner 

 lays claim to priority of discovery of this system, or at 

 least of its practical application to field cul- 

 ture. Mr. Green, at the Ohio Experiment New 

 Station, has developed the method indepen- Onion 

 dently and simultaneously. The seeds are Culture, 

 sown in western New York about the first of 

 March. The rows are placed three inches apart in the 

 frames, and one and a-half ounces of seed is used for 

 each sash, giving about 8,000 plants. When the onions 

 are about three-sixteenths inch in diameter, they are 

 transplanted to the field. Mr. Greiner places about 

 130,000 onion plants to the acre, and a man will trans- 

 plant from 2,000 to 4,000 per day. Only one and a-half 



