J?K VIEWS 01- 1500KS. 



297 



reduced towards the specific mean. He rejects also the mutation theory 

 of evoUition on the ground that the complex and delicately co-ordinated 

 structures of animals could not possibly have been evolved otherwise than 

 by gradual concurrent change. Lastly, since all structures and organs 

 tend to disappear on cessation of selection, he rejects, with some reserva- 

 tions, the theory that stability is conferred otherwise than by continued 

 selection. The whole work is written very clearly, so that the ordinary 

 reader should have no difficulty in grasping its meanings. Part of it is 

 devoted to a consideration of practical problems affecting man. 



Altogether the book is admirably compiled and many of the observa- 

 tions are original and acute. 



It is, however, only fair to the author to point out that the book was 

 compiled previous to the recent Mendelian discoveries, the author's 

 observations on Mendelism and mutation being necessarily relegated to 

 the appendix and a few footnotes. It is obvious that in such circum- 

 stances the author cannot do justice to either subject or to himself. 



Apart from these shortcomings the book is a valuable addition to the 

 literature of the subject. 



"Familiar Trees." By G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. Vol. 1. 

 8vo. 160 pp. (Cassell c^- Co., London.) 6s. 



This is a useful book and contains within its 160 pages nearly all 

 that is worth knowing regarding the eleven species of trees and shrubs 

 that are so ably described and faithfully illustrated in the first series. 

 With the inclusion, however, of such species as Viburnum, Clematis, and 

 Tamarisk, a more descriptive title for the work would, perhaps, have been 

 found in " Familiar Trees and Shrubs." 



The book is of very convenient size, well arranged and printed, and 

 the numerous illustrations, which are true to nature, should render 

 recognition of any species a matter of the simplest, while the text, too, 

 is exhaustive and to the point. The remarks at page 46 oil pruning are, 

 unfortunately, only too true, and might well be extended to our London 

 plane and lime, both of which are cruelly treated at the hands of the 

 so-called pruner, and deprived of all their natural beauty by the annual 

 hacking and hewing to which, in many streets and squares, they are 

 annually subjected. The mulberry might well have been instanced as a 

 capital tree of moderate dimensions for planting in smoky localities. And 

 why are not the English and Scotch laburnums differentiated ?— for they 

 are equally distinct and familiar. From personal observations regarding 

 the Arbutus in the South of Ireland we should be inclined to catalogue it 

 as a British tree — a small matter, perhaps, considering how well the 

 species succeeds around Killarney. Altogether Professor Boulger's book 

 is one that must be highly recommended to the lover of our commonly 

 cultivated trees and shrubs, for both text and illustrations are excellent. 



" Soils." By E. W. Hilgard, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Agriculture 

 in the University of California and Director of the Experiment Station. 

 8vo. 593 pp. (Macmillan, New York and London.) 175. net. 



A volume originally designed as a text-bcok and for reference by 

 students attending the writer's course on soils. A preliminary knowledge of 



