248 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



doubts the advisability of Government support is recommended to study 

 the author's arguments. 



"Electricity, Present and Future." By Lucien Poincare. Trans- 

 lated by Jasper Kemmis. 8vo., 315 pp. (Sisley, London, 1908.) 

 Is. Qd. net. 



This work is a review of the various steps that have led up to 

 the present knowledge and applications of electricity. The language 

 employed is not too technical, but a good deal of technical knowledge will 

 be required to enable one to appreciate the author's very able and 

 comprehensive treatment of his subject. Due prominence is given to 

 the dependence of industry upon science, while it is shown that science 

 has in many instances been a debtor to industry in having problems 

 needing solution provided for her. 



Only a few pages are devoted to the "Future Evolution of Electricity," 

 and in these are indicated a few of the immense number of paths along 

 which future developments are to be expected. 



" The Perfect Garden : How to keep it Beautiful." By W. P. Wright. 

 4to., 408 pp. (Grant Bichards, London, 1908.) 65. net. 



This is a handsome well-printed volume, opening with a prologue 

 on dream gardens, followed by the subjects divided into five parts. 

 Part I. treats on the design of gardens, the cost of gardening, specialism 

 in gardening, how to learn gardening, and the conquest of the wild. We 

 endorse every word the author says in this part, and taking into con- 

 sideration that the book is written chiefly for those who possess or 

 intend making a comparatively small garden, we can advise all such to 

 study this part carefully, especially the chapter on the cost of gardening. 

 Part II. fills a large portion of the book, and deals with practically every 

 phase of the flower garden, including colour, herbaceous plants, rockeries, 

 roses, lilies, trees, shrubs, bulbs, garden enemies, &c. The list of 

 plants, with their different heights and the colour of the flowers, is 

 compiled in an excellent style, and will be most useful to the amateur 

 gardener who may intend making an herbaceous border. The same applies 

 to the rock plants, although only a short list of the plants available 

 for the rock garden is given ; still quite sufficient are named for any 

 ordinary-sized rockery, and a bigger list might be confusing. Only a 

 small portion (pp. 237-250) is devoted to the glass-houses, but this part 

 is filled with very serviceable information. Part IV. deals with hardy 

 fruit, and after giving instructions on how to make a fruit garden the 

 author tells us what to plant, and here we consider too many varieties are 

 named. In apples we should leave out Blenheim Orange because even 

 in the Paradise stock it is a shy bearer, New Hawthornden is a bad 

 cooker, Worcester Pearmain is a vastly overrated variety, and Cornish 

 Gilliflower is delicious when you can get a crop, but it is one of the 

 shiest bearers. In pears again we should omit Beurre Clairgeau, Clapp's 

 Favourite, Conference, Beacon, and General Todleben. Part V. is given 

 up to vegetables, which are ably dealt with, and then follows a series of 

 very good plans of gardens. 



