382 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



" The Soil and its Care." By Mrs. M. Grieve, F.R.H.S. 8vo. 77 pp. (The 

 Author, Chalfont St. Peter [1920].) Paper covers, is. net. 



This little book contains a mass of notes upon soil, soil treatment, 

 manures, and their uses for different soils and crops. It may be consulted with 

 advantage by all beginners wishing for information upon the material which is 

 their chief source of profit and pleasure. 



" The Science and Practice of Manuring." By W. Dyke. New ed. i2mo. 

 xxxvi + 157 pp. (Lockwood Press, London, 1920.) Stiff covers, 2s. net. 



We commented favourably upon this excellent little book when it first 

 appeared, and we are sure that any who possess and consult it in its new form will 

 find in it a safe guide in many of the difficulties with which they are confronted. 



" Roses, their History, Development, and Cultivation." By the Rev. J. H. 

 Pemberton. 2nd ed. 8vo. 334 pp. (Longmans, London, 1920.) 155. net. 



Mr. Pemberton has brought out a second edition to his well-known book on 

 Roses, published eight years ago, in which he substantially follows the lines of the 

 first edition. It will be remembered that the first half of the book contains a 

 popular description of the species of roses and their garden hybrids, while the 

 second half deals with the cultivation of the Rose, the book concluding with a 

 selection and short description of the varieties which the author recommends for 

 cultivation. 



The principal alterations we have noticed in the second edition consist in 

 the addition of a couple of paragraphs descriptive of perpetual-flowering Musk 

 Roses, a class on which the author has himself been working with conspicuous 

 success, and another on the hybrid Lutea, introduced by M. Pernet Ducher. 

 Comparatively small alterations occur in the author's description of soil treatment, 

 and the revision of the selected list has led to numerous omissions from, and 

 additions to, the former list. 



In the author's observations on the Soil and its Treatment, though it may 

 be that the author has not fully described the effect of modern research on the 

 chemistry and bacteriology of changes in the soil, this is of less importance in a work 

 of this character than in a purely scientific work, seeing that the average gardener 

 wishes rather to know what to do than exactly what happens when he does it, and 

 the author's general directions are sound, as might be expected from one of his 

 experience. 



He still adheres, however, to his view that in making a rose bed the manure 

 to be added must be placed at the bottom. If his directions are strictly followed 

 this may be satisfactory, or, at worst, a waste of manure to a greater or less ex- 

 tent, for he insists on free drainage. In many suburban gardens, however, free 

 drainage is not available, and the deep burial of manure in water-logged land may 

 result in the production of poisonous nitrites instead of the beneficial decom- 

 position which occurs in well-aerated soil. There may be something of safety 

 perhaps in the almost universal practice of pricking manure into the beds between 

 the plants in early spring, though nowadays one must add " when we can get it." 



The experience of those of us who, during the war, turned some of our rose 

 beds to the growing of vegetables, has established that roses are far from being the 

 most fastidious of garden plants. 



Mr. Pemberton' s book has secured a position as an authority on roses and is 

 valued by all rosarians who possess it. 



" Henry Nicholson Ellacombe. A Memoir." Edited by Arthur W. Hill. 

 8vo. 318 pp. (" Country Life," London, 1919.) 



As half a loaf is better than no bread, we must be thankful to have this ex- 

 cellent memoir of Canon Ellacombe, however much we should like a fuller life and 

 letters of so remarkable a man. His many-sided interests, marvellous memory, 

 and simply astonishing activity never failed until within a few weeks of the end 

 of his long life of almost 94 years. He inherited from his father the love of 

 beautiful and interesting things, and also the power to select and hold by the very 

 best. It is not surprising that in his ripe old age he was surrounded by collections 

 of plants and art treasures that attracted admiring connoisseurs from the ends of 

 the earth. His kind and generous spirit, readiness to impart of his knowledge, and 

 genial hospitable habits created an atmosphere at Bitton Vicarage that will always 

 be remembered with thankfulness by those who entered it. To such, this book is 

 a precious heritage, opening again the closed door of the happy past ; and to all 

 who can appreciate the" delight in simple things "it should prove a help and 

 encouragement. 



The character and characteristics of " the Canon " stand out clearly in its 



