BOOK REVIEWS. 



71 



There is a curious frontispiece which has been copied from an old 

 French work on the auricula published in 1738, evidently taken at a time 

 when auriculas were not in flower, as those represented are caricatures. 

 Mr. Payne is a book collector, a lover of old gardening books, and the 

 preparation of this book has been a labour of love to him. There is one 

 important omission, as the author mentions in the preface, the rose. 

 He says there is " no need to go over the ground again that has been 

 traversed by Serior Vergara, although a supplement to his 1 Bibliografia 

 de la Rosa ' might now be reasonably considered desirable." The author 

 has quoted from first editions as far as practicable. The book is useful 

 also in letting us know what we want as well as what we have. There 

 are nine works mentioned dealing with the auricula, but the latest is fifty 

 years eld. The auricula is a more popular flower, and much better grown 

 now than it used to be ; as its culture is better understood there is room 

 therefore for a trustworthy treatise on the auricula. Indeed the author of 

 the treatise alluded to has passed away, but he was not a cultivator. The 

 date is 1857. Bulbs and bulb culture have been well dealt with in quite 

 recent years; the latest book is by Mr. John Weathers (" Beautiful 

 Bulbous Plants, 1905 "). There are many old and modern books on the 

 Hyacinth and also on the Lily ; and. showing the importance of the 

 Tulip, there are twenty-four books dealing with it, the oldest date! 165-4, 

 the newest 1907. The Carnation, Picotee and Pink are credited with 

 forty-eight works beginning with " Le Jardinage des (Eillets," Paris, 1647, 

 by " L. B.," and the latest, also published in Paris. " Essais sur l'histoire de 

 quelques fleurs d'ornement : L' (Eillets " (Le Texnier, 1908). Of course 

 the carnation had been written about in the sixteenth century, although 

 not in the form of a special treatise ; the importance of the Chrysanthemum 

 as a garden favourite is amply demonstrated by the fact that no fewer 

 than 103 books are enumerated and thirty-three society publications. Of 

 course there would be no book on the chrysanthemum earlier than the 

 nineteenth century : the earliest quoted by Mr. Payne was published in 

 Vienna in 1833 by J. B. Rupprecht ; the earliest in England in 1843 by 

 Mr. Tyas. The late Mr. J. Dale, of the Temple Gardens, wrote an 

 excellent treatise which was published in 1856. Modern books are plenti- 

 ful on this subject. Thirty-six books are enumerated dealing with the 

 dahlia, and several society publications. The dahlia seems to have 

 occupied public attention in France earlier than in Britain. Jacquin 

 Freres published an essay on the cultivation, classification, and nomen- 

 clature of the dahlia as early as 1828, and between that date and 1841 

 inclusive there were twelve books published in France dealing with it. 



No one but a lover of books would have taken the trouble involved in 

 searching out and classifying such a large number of books in English, 

 French, and German, treating on every subject connected with the flower 

 garden, and especially with what are termed florist's flowers. The book 

 should find a place in every garden library. 



"Little Gardens, and How to Make the Most of Them." By 

 H. H. Thomas. 8vo., 152 pp. (Cassell. London, 1908.) Is. net ; cloth 

 Is. 6J. net. 



A capital little book for the amateur, full of the information he needs, 

 clearly dealing with the making of a garden and all it entails. In the 



