584 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL TTORTTCULTTTRAL SOCIETY. 



BOOK REVIEWS. 



'Gardens for Small Country Houses." By Gertrude Jekyll and 

 Lawrence Wea-ver. 4to. 260 pp. (Country Life, London, 1912.) 

 155. net. 



A most useful book for owners of comparatively small gardens, 

 containing a great number of illustrations of gardens attached tO' houses | 

 of the value of £500 and upwards. The following remarks in the 

 introduction are so true and important that we. reproduce them : "In 

 the arrangement of any site the natural conditions of the place should 

 first be studied. If they are emphatic or in any way distinct, they I 

 should be carefully maintained and fostered. It is grievous to see, in a i 

 place that has some well-defined natural character, that character 

 destroyed or stultified, for it is that quality that is most precious. Many 

 a hill-side site, such as those on wild moorland, has been vulgarised by j 

 a coinventionally commonplace treatment. ' ' How often we see this in 

 gardens of all sizes, and how conservative we still are in our choice 

 of trees and shrubs in making new gardens, isuch things as common 

 laurels, privet, &c., occupying prominent positions that ought to be 

 filled with really good flowering subjects, of which there is an endless 

 choice for practically all or any soils. In this profusely illustrated book 

 there are many plans that could be altered a little to make them suitable 

 for a number of gardens, always studying the environment of the place 

 and its fitness for the house; and we can strongly recommend it to 

 anyone making a new garden or remodelling an old one, as it is full 

 of ideas. 



"Royal Gardens." By Cyril Ward. 4to. 182 pp. (Longmans, 

 London, 1912.) 16s. net. 



When we state that this book is illustrated with thirty-two full- 

 page coloured plates and five pen drawings by the author, all 

 admirably done, some idea may be formed of its beauty. The 

 frontispiece is of " Daffodils on the Hill below the Round Tower, 

 Windsor, ' ' making a splendid mass of colour, and showing how suitable 

 these bulbs are for planting in grass on hillsides, where they always 

 appear to advantage. There are other coloured illustrations of Windsor, 

 especially the Norman Tower garden in April and June, and an interest- ' 

 ing article by Mr. Arthur J. Hubbard. There are delightful views and 

 scenes of Bagshot Park, the residence of the Duke and Duchess of 

 Connaught, in May, with a very good article by Mr. C. W. Knowles, 

 the head gardener there, and an illustration in colours of the lily garden 

 is charming. Hampton Court in June is lovely, as many can testify 

 who have seen it at that and other times of the year. The pen draw- 

 ings of the Palace in the time of Queen Mary and the bird's-eye view of 

 Hampton Court as finished by William III. will interest the reader. 



