240 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



species arise by a response in the organism to the " direct action of changed 

 conditions of life, without the aid of Natural Selection," is the true and 

 only method which nature adopts for the making of new varieties and 

 species. 



"The Encyclopaedia of Gardening." By T. W. Sanders, F.L.S. 

 Thirteenth Edition. 8vo., 466 pp. (Collingridge, London.) 3s. 6d. net. 



A book that has passed through twelve editions cannot require much 

 recommendation. The author states that it has been thoroughly revised ; 

 and in an introduction starting from the garden of Eden, down through the 

 ages, there is a very good resume indeed of gardening and gardeners. 

 Even Noah, we are told, " experienced delight in cultivating the vine " ; 

 truly he did, and drank too much of the wine he produced. The author 

 rapidly surveys the history of gardeners down to the last century ; and the 

 work of such men as Thomas Andrew Knight, John Claudius Loudon, 

 Sir Joseph Paxton, Charles Darwin, Dr. Lindley, Dr. Masters, and many 

 others, is gratefully acknowledged. 



The book itself is to be commended for its cheapness : it is on the 

 lines of Nicholson's " Dictionary of Gardening," but that is beyond the 

 means of many gardeners and amateurs ; whereas anyone who cares to 

 purchase books at all may afford the small sum required to purchase the 

 work in question. In looking through the volume there is not much to 

 object to — if one may except the cultural remarks, which are rather too 

 definite. Thus under the heading of Cattleya is this advice, " Water three 

 times weekly March to August ; once weekly August to November, and 

 February to March ; once a month other times. Temperature, March to 

 September 65° to 85°. September to March 60° to 70°. Resting period, 

 winter." Now as to watering. A plant, whatever may be the genus, 

 should only be watered when it is in the right state to need it ; it is 

 acting by square and rule to tell a cultivator to water once a month, 

 once weekly, or three times weekly, at certain periods ; if this were all, 

 any novice could water Cattleyas ; nor do they all rest at the same 

 time in winter. They rest when growth is completed, and the best time 

 to repot them is not in winter ; but as soon as roots begin to push out 

 from the base of the last formed pseudo-bulbs. This instruction as to 

 watering is also given under Phalaenopsis. "Water daily March to 

 April. Once or twice a week October to March." Probably April is a 

 misprint for September, but it ought not to be in a thirteenth edition. 

 The cultural remarks in other respects are such as may be depended upon, 

 but in watering no one can advise the number of times any plants should 

 be watered ; climate, temperature, and the compost in which the plants 

 are growing must be considered. To illustrate this : we sent on one 

 occasion some Auriculas to an amateur, and, calling there subsequently, 

 the gardener asked me why the Auriculas I sent required watering every 

 day, while their own stock required it once in three days only. I could 

 only account for this by more ample drainage or more porous soil in the 

 set requiring most water. As a work of reference, for short instructions as 

 to culture, and the natural order of genera, as well as the usual informa- 

 tion required by gardeners and amateurs in their work, this book will be 

 found a useful addition to the library. 



