358 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



market purposes &c. ; and, as already stated, although much of 

 the instruction given is not applicable in this country, there is much 

 that is. 



" Chinese Forest Trees and Timber Supply." By Norman Shaw, 

 B.A. 8vo., 351 pp. With a map and 33 illustrations. (Unwin, 

 London, 1914.) 10s. 6d. net. 



Mr. Shaw is fortunate in his subject. Of late years, since the 

 work of Hance, of Dr. Henry, and of Mr. E. H. Wilson, there is no 

 country to which the botanist and horticulturist look with more interest 

 than to China. There have been for half a century speculations as 

 to an eastward retreat of the European " Miocene " flora before the 

 cold of the Glacial Epoch ; but the work of these collectors has demon- 

 strated that China is the headquarters of many genera of the North 

 Temperate zone, just as eastern North America is of Crataegus and 

 Acer. While the botanist is equally interested in new species of 

 Viburnum, Hydrangea, Primula, or Meconopsis, the business man is 

 ransacking the globe for prospective sources of a timber supply to 

 make up for the excess of consumption over production in most of 

 the previously known regions. 



So great, then, is the interest of his subject-matter that we can 

 overlook sundry little defects of literary style in Mr. Shaw's presenta- 

 tion of his results. His work is divided into two widely disparate 

 Parts, the first dealing with " The Forest Problem in China," the 

 second entitled " Notes on Chinese Forest Trees." So slight is the 

 knowledge we most of us have of Chinese geography, and of other 

 matters Chinese, that it is to be regretted that the one map in the 

 volume is but a mere sketch of the distribution of population and 

 forests, without indication of the division into provinces ; and also 

 that various native words for measures, prices, &c. are left unexplained. 

 One would also have preferred that the trees named in the first Part 

 had been more precisely identified, or that references had been given 

 to the descriptions in Part II. At the same time we know of no one 

 work in which so full an account of the forests of the whole of China, 

 and of their constituent species, can be obtained. 



The story, down to recent times, is almost everywhere the same — 

 a love of trees near their homes on the part of the people, but reckless 

 felling on the " no-man's-land " of the mountains ; forest fires started 

 by hunters to drive out game, by fire-balloons on the Feast of Lanterns, 

 and other foolish causes ; and no attempt whatever at re-afforestation. 

 The officials, says a Consular Report quoted by Mr. Shaw, are not 

 ignorant of such truisms as that destruction of forests leads to floods, 

 followed by a drying-up of springs, "and from time to time put out 

 posters exhorting the people to plant pines and firs and to abstain 

 from setting fire to the hillsides. Seeds even are offered gratuitously. 

 But surveillance is wanting." There are, however, signs of improve- 

 ment. German example at Tsingtau and the influence of Russian, 



