132 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



scope. It has the great merit, too, of being of reasonable price, putting it within 

 the reach of all. The opening chapter on soil management will be especially 

 useful to allotment holders, and to others with more extensive gardens, showing 

 how best to carry out cultivation, economically and efficiently. 



" The Strawberry in North America." By S. W. Fletcher, 8vo. 234 pp. 

 (Macmillan, London, 191 7.) 8s. net. 



The British fruit-grower will find this work by Mr. Fletcher, Professor of 

 Horticulture at the Pennsylvania State College, full of most valuable informa- 

 tion from beginning to end, and containing matter of considerable interest to 

 the Strawberry growers in this country. It appears that the cultivation of 

 Strawberries in America was in its infancy about 1800 ; now the quantity grown 

 for market is enormous, and the varieties almost countless, many of them 

 raised by careful hybridization, the origin of the best being recorded. Some of 

 these varieties have spread all over Europe. The pecuniary reward in Strawberry 

 breeding does not appear to be large. The author says " some men raise thousands 

 of seedlings without producing one that they consider worthy of introduction." 

 The early history of the North American type and its origin is full of excellent 

 matter, and the beginning of garden and commercial cultivation is also dealt with. 

 The introduction of a variety which was highly esteemed in Britain, viz., Keen's 

 Seedling, many years ago, and then found in every garden, will be remembered 

 by most of the old school ; it was one of the parents of our present well-known 

 and popular varieties. 



Breeding for a specific purpose is one of the subjects dealt with in a clear and 

 desirable manner that should enable the breeder to avoid many pitfalls. How- 

 ever, soil, situation, and other conditions have such an influence on Strawberries, 

 that one that is first-class in one place may be worthless in another, as proved 

 not only in this country, but also in America. We heartily commend this book 

 to all interested in this popular fruit. It is boldly printed, nicely illustrated, 

 capitally indexed, and of handy size. 



" Botany : A Text-Book for Senior Students." By D. Thoday. Ed. 2. 

 8vo. xix + 524 pp. (University Press, Cambridge, 1919.) 7s. 6d. net. 



We noticed the first edition of this useful book when it first appeared (see 

 Journal R.H.S. xli. p. 481), and now need only to say that chapters dealing with 

 the cryptogams have been added so as to make the volume a still more useful 

 one to a wider range of students. 



"Botany: The Modern Study of Plants." By M. Stopes. 125 pp. New 

 Issue. 



" The Evolution of Living Organisms." By E. S. Goodrich. 125 pp. New 

 Issue. (Nelson, London, 1919.) is. 3d. each net. 



These new issues of " The People's Books " are both improvements upon 

 good little books, revised and brought up to date by the addition of new matter. 

 They were noticed when they first appeared. (See Journal R.H.S. xxxviii. 

 PP- 586, 594 ) 



" An Introduction to the Study of Plants." By F. E. Fritsch and E. J. 

 Salisbury. Ed. 2. 8vo. viii -f 397 pp. (Bell, London, 1917.) 5s. net. 



Many elementary text-books of botany in the past have paid too great attention 

 to the explanation of terms, so that some have seemed little more than a running 

 commentary upon the words peculiar to descriptive botany. Others appear to 

 inculcate the idea that the end of botanical science is to enable one to " run 

 down " a plant. A few introduce chapters upon plant physiology. 



Latterly a new, and as we believe, better and more logical spirit has come 

 over botanical teaching, so that the central idea is the plant and its mode of life 

 with inquiry by observation and experiment into the means by which nutrition, 

 growth, and reproduction are effected in the different circumstances in which 

 plants grow. No e.ementary book we have seen carries out this idea so well as 

 the present one, and we can therefore most heartily recommend it to the beginner 

 in botanical study. It is an innovation in botanical text-books to find a chapter 

 devoted to a consideration of the soil, and an innovation almost as revolutionary 

 in conception as it is good in execution. 



The usual features of an elementarv botanical text-book are of course present, 

 and in addition to the chapter mentioned above an excellent elementary account 

 of the vegetation of typical habitats in England, such as woodlands, sand dunes, 

 rocks, and so on, making an admirable introduction to the subject of^ plant 

 ecology. 



