BOOK EEVIEWS. 



9] 



"Forestry for Woodmen." By C. O. Hanson. 8vo. 222 pp. 

 (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1911.) 5s. net. 



The title of this useful book is not very appropriate, as much of 

 the information is far beyond the knowledge of the ordinary woodman, 

 who knows little and cares less about sectional areas, volume of wood, 

 carbon dioxide, or the intricacies of decimals and percentages. To the 

 intelligent forester or woods manager the book is more likely to appeal, 

 though that it was brought out as stated by the author to supply a 

 cheap book on scientific forestry for those who could not afford the 

 more expensive books is hardly in keeping with facts, as one book 

 at least, which is now passing into its fifth edition, was originally pub- 

 lished at the low price of 3s. 6^^. Good advice — practical and to the 

 point — is given in the chapter dealing with tending of woods, and we 

 are glad that the old system of extended pruning operations is aban- 

 doned, and the advice to pay fellers of timber by the day instead of 

 by contract is sound, and should be insisted upon, particularly m dense 

 or ornamental woods. 



The author is evidently in favour of mixing larch with other trees; 

 but we might point out that the majority of the pure larch woods in 

 Scotland and England are those that pay best, and, curiously enough, 

 the frontispiece illustration and that at page 169 show finely-developed 

 larches in pure woods. 



In the notes on broad-leaved trees, the white ash and some other 

 useless species might well have been omitted; while the long list of 

 birds, injurious and otherwise, at page 111 will interest the woodman 

 but little, for he has but small say either in their destruction or pre- 

 servation. 



Methods of treatment ' ' is an excellent chapter, and we only wish 

 that rotation — both of planting and felling — was more generally adopted 

 in dealing with British woods and plantations. 



"Cucumber Culture." By W. Dyke. 7 in. x 4 in. 90 pp. 

 (Lockwood Press, London.) Is. net. 



A little handbook devoted entirely to the cultivation of the cucumber, 

 and especially to the experiences of the author in the growth of 

 cucumbers for market. All phases of the subject are dealt with, and 

 even the experienced grower will find something suggestive in the 

 booklet, though of course the actual method of procedure will neces- 

 sarily vary under different conditions. The author seems to have found 

 naphthalene an excellent remedy against various soil pests. The form 

 of the book is not very handy, and a little more care might have been 

 advantageously expended upon the proof-reading. There are many 

 errors which might easily have been corrected — e.g. Eitzman Bos for 

 Ritzema Bos, Glocos'porium for Gloeosyorium, Neocosmopora for 

 Neocosmospora, Mycosphaerelle eitrulina for Mycosphaerello/ citrulina, 

 and so on. 



