654 JOUENAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



British Butterflies, Moths, and Beetles." By W. F. Kirby. 

 8yo., 96 pp. (Sonnenschein, London, 1905.) Is. 



A useful little book for the young naturalist, with many figures of 

 common insects and directions for their collection and preservation. 

 Like all the " Young Collector " series, this has no index. 



** The Smuts of Australia — their Structure, Life History, Treatment, 

 and Classification." By D. McAlpine. 8vo., vii + 288 pp. (Kemp, 

 Melbourne, 1910.) 4s. 



Some little time ago Mr. McAlpine published a monograph on the 

 rust fungi of Australia, and now he has increased our indebtedness 

 by an excellent account of the smuts. The smut fungi are of great 

 economic importance, especially in their relation to grain crops; but 

 this present work is much more than an enumeration of the species 

 that occur in Australia, for accounts of large numbers of experiments 

 upon such important matters as parasitism and immunity and the 

 relation between host and parasite are given, as well as a review of 

 most of the previous work on the group, and of methods of practically 

 dealing with the diseases induced by these fungi. It is illustrated by 

 numerous figures and photomicrographs, and is a volume indispensable 

 to all workers in the same field. 



" Pansies, Violas and Violets." By "William Cuthbertson, J. P. 

 Edited by E. Hooper Pearson. 8vo. , 116 pp. (Jack, London and 

 Edinburgh, 1910.) Is. 6d. 



This is a useful addition to the many excellent works dealing with 

 these greatly improved hardy flowering plants, although in several 

 respects it reminds us of a book written by the same author some 

 years ago. 



The history, &c., of both subjects is carefully gone into, but hardly 

 sufficient is said respecting the more recent work with Pansies and 

 Violas. Eaisers of to-day are largely responsible for the great im- 

 provement we see in varieties represented at the leading shows and 

 largely grown in our gardens. 



The subjects are dealt with in comprehensive fashion, and *' Pansies 

 and Violas from seed," " cultivation from cuttings," in which the most 

 approved methods now adopted, as well as suggestions for ** propagating 

 out-of-doors," and " by division of the plants," are considered in turn. 



The "cultivation for exhibition and other purposes," and the 

 staging " of exhibition blooms is fully gone into; but this aspect of 

 the question appeals to only a limited number of persons. 



For this reason we welcome " Violas for beddings," and regret that 

 more space is not given to this interesting aspect, as the future of both 

 Pansies and Violas is largely involved in what raisers and distributors 

 do in this direction. Their use in table-decoration is an interesting 

 item, and we should have liked this matter gone into more fully, so 

 that it embraced other points of decoration which tend to show the 

 uses to ^^^hich these dainty flowers may be put. 



