BOOK REVIEWS. 



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BOOK REVIEWS. 



" Elementary Tropical Agri culture.' ' By W. H. Johnson, F.L.S. 

 xi + 150 pp. ; illustrations in the text. (Crosby Lockwood, London, 

 1913.) 3s. 6d. net. 



This book has been prepared primarily for use in West African 

 schools. The author is Director of Agriculture in Southern Nigeria, 

 and formerly held a similar post on the Gold Coast and in Portuguese 

 East Africa. It may be assumed, therefore, that he has an intimate 

 acquaintance with local requirements and has adapted his book to 

 local needs. Only the very elementary facts are stated, and these 

 are written in clear, non-technical language, and are followed by 

 descriptions of simple experiments to demonstrate the lessons. 



The unhealthy climatic conditions that obtain in West Africa 

 render the agricultural development of that vast area by Europeans 

 impossible ; hence the importance of training West African youths in 

 the principles of agriculture as part of their elementary education, so 

 that in the future a more progressive policy may be adopted in regard 

 to this most important of all native industries. 



The two parts into which the book is divided deal respectively 

 with the soil and plant life, and the school garden ; a chapter on plant 

 diseases and one on insect pests is included in the first part. The 

 line drawings by Mr. A. D. Peacock, B.Sc, which illustrate the text, 

 are well executed and add much to the value of the book. 



" Alpine Plants of Europe, together with Cultural Hints." By 

 Harold Stuart Thompson, F.L.S. 8vo., 287 pp. (Routledge, London, 

 1911.) 7s. 6d. net. 



For long there has been need for a well-illustrated book in the 

 English language descriptive of the flowering plants of the whole 

 range of the European Alps. Mr. H. Stuart Thompson is to be con- 

 gratulated on having produced, very successfully, such a work. His 

 " Alpine Plants of Europe " is a book which flower lovers and growers 

 of alpine plants will do well to take with them on their alpine holidays, 

 for with the aid of the beautiful coloured plates taken from Joseph 

 Seboth's drawings, and Mr. Stuart Thompson's careful descriptions, 

 there should seldom be much difficulty in identifying the plants 

 met with on such a holiday. Some 700 species are described, 

 mostly perennials, and these 700 have been chosen more for their 

 decorative value and general interest to the tourist and gardener than 

 for purely botanical interest. A few Southern rock plants — such, 

 for instance, as Morisia hyfiogaea, from Corsica and Sardinia, which, 



