408 JOUENAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



"Eesearches on Fungi." By Professor A. H. E. Buller, D.Sc. 8vo., 

 xi + 287 pp. (Longmans, London, 1909.) 12s. 6d. net. 



This volume is really a monograph on the production, liberation, and 

 dispersion of the spores of the higher fungi, and is exceedingly interesting 

 as an example of the application of certain aspects of physical science to 

 investigation into a rather difficult but exceedingly fertile field of botanical 

 research. 



Our knowledge of the facts concerning the discharge and dispersal of 

 fungus spores has, up till now, been very meagre and restricted to isolated 

 and generally chance observations, and the author has filled a gap in our 

 knowledge by the use of ingenious methods, and students of fungi are 

 indebted to him not only for the painstaking work he has recorded, but 

 also for the suggestiveness of his experiments. 



The number of spores produced by a single fungus is prodigious, e.g. 

 the author estimates that a single mushroom produces 1,800,000,000 

 spores, while the number in the giant puff-ball (Lycoperdon Bovis ta) is 

 estimated at 7,000,000,000,000, and others produce a like abundance. How 

 difficult it must be for the spores to find a suitable medium for growth 

 and what an enormous waste of spores occurs ! 



The book is excellently illustrated by numerous well-executed figures 

 and plates and is well-printed, but the paper is highly glazed and heavy 

 and has an exceedingly unpleasant odour, so that it is impossible to read 

 the book in comfort. A full index and a useful summary of the principal 

 points in the investigations are given. 



" The Garden Week by Week Throughout the Year." By Walter 

 P. Wright. 8vo., 410 pp. (Grant Richards, London, 1909.) 6s. net. 



A well-illustrated hand-book to garden operations, dealing with the 

 selection of seeds both flowers and vegetables, the weekly work for 

 every month in the year, descriptions of flowering plants, and much more 

 information of a kindred nature. Vegetables and fruits are equally fully 

 dealt with, and practically all garden operations are clearly described, and 

 anyone requiring a guide as to what to grow, and the correct time to 

 perform operations in a small garden, will find this book useful. It is 

 well got up. 



"The Handy Book of Pruning, Grafting and Budding." By James 

 Udale. Ed. 2, 8vo., 136 pp. (W. & H. Smith, Evesham; Simpkin, 

 Marshall, London, 1909.) Is. Qd. net. 



The call for a second edition of this excellent little book speaks well 

 for its practical and useful character. Amateurs are frequently at a loss 

 to know if their trees are properly or improperly pruned by the 

 jobbing gardener they are obliged to call in, but in this little book the 

 instructions are so clear and so plainly put forth that almost any 

 novice may learn how trees should be pruned. Budding and grafting are 

 equally well expounded, and we can commend the book to all possessing 

 small gardens or even large ones. The printing is good, the illustrations 

 are very clear, and although there is no index, the chapters indicate plainly 

 the contents of the book. 



