BOOK KEVIEWS. 



261 



their readers. They should awaken a desire to know more, and should 

 stimulate them to find out more for themselves from the actual natural 

 objects. Judged by this standard, the present book will not fail, for it 

 treats of wild plants, of trees, and birds and beasts, of fish and insects, 

 of gardens and the weather, and of many other such things in a clear and 

 entertaining way, so that the nature-lover may verify for himself what is 

 stated, and in the doing he may learn more of nature's hidden truths. 

 The printing and general "get up" of the book is excellent, and the 

 illustrations, both coloured and half-tone, are deserving of praise. 



"Familiar Wild Flowers." By F. E. Hulme, F.L.S. New issue. 

 Vol. I, 8vo., pp. 168. (Cassell, London, 1909.) In parts 6d. each net. 



This is a reprint of a well-known popular work on British wild 

 flowers, with (in all) 360 coloured illustrations of British wild plants and 

 descriptive notes concerning each. Many quotations from old herbals 

 and other old works are given. 



" Pruning." Anon. x 10, 66 pp. (Lockwood Press, London, 1909.) 

 Is. net. 



This is a revised reprint of a series of articles which first appeared in 

 " The Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Trades' Journal." It is written for 

 commercial fruit growers and contains an appendix treating of pruning 

 from the standpoint of the small-holder. 



Seldom have we seen a more excellent series of articles upon this 

 difficult subject. The author is a practical fruit grower who has learned 

 to make use of his eyes, to think carefully over what he has seen, and to 

 draw accurate inferences from his observations. All sides of the subject 

 so far as hardy fruit growing outdoors is concerned, are ably handled, and 

 the author has good advice to give upon each. The present differs from 

 many other books and articles dealing with pruning in that the author 

 recognizes the fact that each variety of fruit has its own peculiar habit of 

 growth and fruiting, and he deals with them accordingly, showing how 

 the pruning is to be done, and why it is to be done in that particular 

 way. This method of treatment makes the book of peculiar value to the 

 commercial fruit grower, especially as the varieties dealt with are those 

 that find the greatest favour in the market. 



The tools to be used and such things as gloves, aprons, and so on 

 suitable for use are dealt with, and the author, very properly, decries the 

 use of secateurs. The knife, and occasionally the long-arm pruners, are 

 the only tools required. Secateurs are clumsy and more liable to bruise 

 the tree than the knife, making wounds difficult or impossible to heal. 



The shape of the book is unusual and we think not very handy, and 

 we hope the author will be induced to extend his work and publish it in 

 another form, with perhaps larger illustrations. As it is, no commercial 

 fruit grower should be without it. 



