KEENER AND OLIVER'S NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 843 
Keener and Oliver's Natural History of Plants. (London : 
Blackie & Son.) 
The public— and more especially the horticultural public — are 
deeply indebted to the well-known publishers, Messrs. Blackie & 
Son, for having put into their hands one of the finest treatises 
on the history of plants which has appeared during recent 
years. Professor Kerner's " Pflanzenleben " is the tangible result 
of the author's studies and researches for many years past in 
connection with every phase of plant-life. The original was 
written in German, and now we have a complete English trans- 
lation from the pen of Professor F. W. Oliver, an eminent 
English botanist who, it may be mentioned, carried out most 
elaborate experiments a few years ago in connection with the 
Scientific Committee of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, showing 
the injurious effects of London fog upon cultivated plants. 
In the "Natural History of Plants " — which is the English 
title of Professor Kerner's *' Pflanzenleben " — an exhaustive 
and charmingly written review of the vegetable kingdom is 
given. The original German has, for the most part, been faith- 
fully translated into English ; but Professor Oliver has not 
hesitated, as he says, to add or substitute new matter, a process 
which has been rendered necessary since the original was 
written, owing to the advance in botanical knowledge in the 
meantime ; and he has actually rewritten the systematic portion 
from the Thallophytes to the end of the Gymnosperms, and, in 
part, the Monocotyledons also. The EngUsh edition will there- 
fore have a great advantage over the German in being brought 
up to date by such an able authority. 
The work has been published in sixteen monthly parts, so 
as to bring it within reach of all, and now it is complete. There 
are altogether nearly 1,000 original woodcuts, dealing for the 
most part with remarkable peculiarities of plant-life, and also 16 
coloured plates which serve to illustrate interesting deductions 
of the author. 
Not the least important part of the work is the copious Gloss- 
ary and Index which have been given in the last part. In this 
respect also the English edition is far superior to the German 
