110 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



only of Belgian colonists of the Congo, but of actual and possible planters 

 throughout the tropics, irrespective of nationality. 



Ignorance of the nature and habit of the plant from the cultivation 

 of which profit is anticipated — ignorance, indeed, of the science of cultiva- 

 tion in any of its branches — is general enough with those who emigrate 

 with the intention of farming the soil in any regions, but this ignorance 

 seems to be especially remarkable in those who essay tropical planting. 

 Knowledge preliminarily gained in the botany and culture of the plants 

 with which the cultivator will be called upon to deal is sound insurance 

 against failure, and a comprehension of the scientific and economic issues 

 in tropical agronomics to be gleaned from works like M. de Wildeman's 

 must prove of great practical value, inducing a more intelligent attitude 

 towards an undertaking, and making for progress and enhanced efficiency 

 in the management thereof. 



If any portion of the labour expended upon this work can be charac- 

 terised as more praiseworthy and effective than the remainder, that 

 devoted to pure botany must be so deemed. The botanical characteristics 

 of the plants are so fully and clearly treated that the work constitutes 

 a valuable addition to the literature of botany. 



The author has been at pains to collect information from the best 

 sources, and adds to his own, with due acknowledgment, the well-sifted 

 research of others. A list of botanists and explorers who have con- 

 tributed information on the flora of the Congo, with brief descriptive 

 notes on their achievements, is furnished, and forms very interesting 

 reading. 



The "coup d'oeil" on the vegetation of Central Tropical Africa, 

 to which the first forty pages are devoted, gives an instructive picture 

 of actualities in that region, and conjures up a stimulating glimpse of 

 its possibilities, the author then proceeding to treat of coffee. The 

 desirability for a more scientific comprehension and treatment of the 

 coffee is strongly dwelt upon, and the necessity of special attention to 

 and experiment with "varieties" is emphasized. In this connection 

 a warning reference is made to Coffea ste?wphylla (Highland coffee), 

 the planting of which was recommended by Scott-Elliott in 1892, experi- 

 ments in Java proving it inferior to other varieties, notably Coffea 

 robusta. 



For shading purposes the use, whenever practicable, of plants of 

 economic value is urged, whereby a maximum of returns may be extracted 

 from the planted area ; and an exhaustive list (after Cook) is furnished 

 of plants which are suitable as shade-plants in the coffee plantation. 



An account, with statistics, of the coffee industry in the several 

 countries in which it is engaged in is succinctly given. M. de Wildeman 

 also devotes some attention to the numerous pests and diseases to which 

 coffee is liable, and sees in thorough and scientific methods of culture 

 supplemented by the judicious use of spraying compounds — formula? for 

 some of which are given- -the only means of avoiding heavy losses. 



The treatise on coffee terminates with a very lengthy enumeration 

 of the known species and varieties of the genus Coffea ; but the author 

 considers that " the systematizing of this genus is far from being complete, 

 and may be said to be hardly more than outlined." 



