BOOK REVIEWS, 197 
" Theophrastus : Enquiry into Plants." By Sir Arthur Hort. 
2 vols. 8vo. (William Heinemann, London, 1916.) 10s. 
This is the first English translation of the oldest work extant on 
plants in general, Hippocrates having written of them solely with 
regard to their medicinal values. This led Linnaeus to style Theo- 
phrastus the Father of Botany. He is supposed to have embodied 
in this book the teaching of his master Aristotle, from whom also he 
inherited the botanic garden formed by him in Athens. 
The great importance of the work as the foundation of botanical 
science has been ably dealt with by Greene in " Landmarks of Botanical 
History," chap, ii., in the recapitulation of which he enumerates 
seventeen elemental truths of universal botany, recognized and 
clearly enunciated by Theophrastus. 
It is astonishing how much he knew of the functions and struc- 
tures of plants, considering that he had no aids to his natural vision for 
discovering them. 
It is perhaps more as the owner and student of the first botanical 
garden, the keen observer of living plants, and the historian of the 
horticultural methods of his age that his book should be studied by 
modern garden lovers. 
They will learn much, be reminded of numerous facts, and delighted 
with many a pleasing proof that the great Greek did not believe all he 
was told. Of this last class may be instanced the dignified way in 
which he terms irrelevant or absurd the superstitious practices enjoined 
to be observed when gathering certain herbs ; such as dancing round 
the mandrake, repeating as much as possible about the mysteries of love. 
Think of a Greek born in the fourth century B.C. knowing that 
" Slips for planting should be taken if possible with roots attached, 
or failing that, from the lower rather than from the higher part of the 
tree, except in the case of the Vine." Again for transplanting, " The 
holes should be dug as long as possible beforehand, and should always 
be deeper than the original holes, even for those whose roots do not 
run very deep." That the Almond, though it buds early, sheds its 
leaves late, while the Mulberry buds late and falls early. Leaves are 
smoother on the upper surface, having fibres and veins below, as the 
human hand has its lines. Asparagus has no leaves. The leaflets of 
the Ash were to be regarded as forming but one leaf, because all are 
shed at once. 
He often writes " Some however say," followed by some quaint 
idea ; such as that vine and pomegranate cuttings should be set 
upside down. But on his own authority he says the fig progresses 
more quickly and is less eaten by grubs if the cutting is set in a squill 
bulb. Root pruning is advised for trees that do not bear fruit but run 
to a leafy growth, and he knew of the separation of the sexes in the 
palm and fig. 
One of the most interesting and astonishing facts revealed by a 
study of Theophrastus' book is the great number of plant names used 
