200 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
author less interested in describing the action of manures than in recommending 
the preparations advertised in his book. Again, the treatment of roses under 
glass affords an excellent opportunity to call attention to the wares of advertisers 
of greenhouses and hot-water apparatus, of which full advantage is taken. A 
considerable part of the book is taken up with a series of plans and planting 
schemes with illustrations, which may be found useful to those laying out new 
rose gardens. These schemes appear to have been prepared by various nursery- 
men who, with perhaps one notable exception, have prefaced their description 
with an account of the firm and its achievements. 
The book ends with a long descriptive list of roses in commerce. The prepara- 
tion of this list must have given the author some trouble, for it contains short 
descriptions of over 2,000 varieties. The author calls it a dictionary of roses, 
and says he has excluded those which he has found to have passed out of 
commerce. 
The idea of collecting the roses for the time being in commerce is a good one 
and might be of interest historically, though the list before us contains a few 
that are little grown in this country, and is not complete if roses advertised 
by Continental and American growers are to be included. The class to which 
the rose belongs, the raiser, and year of introduction are sometimes given, but 
often omitted. Nowadays there are so many names representing two or more 
varieties that this information, when attainable, should always be supplied. 
We have, for instance, at least three ' Queen Alexandras,' two varieties called 
'Coronation,' one a H.T. and the other a Wichuraiana, and there are several 
similar cases. 
The advertising character of the book is a great drawback in considering 
it as a literary production, but for those who can get over this disadvantage 
there is matter in it which is worth reading if only it were better framed. 
" A New British Flora : British Wild Flowers in their Natural Haunts." By 
A. R. Horwood. Six vols. 8vo. Col. plates. (Gresham Publishing Co., London, 
1919.) 
This work is one dealing in the first place with the commoner British wild 
flowers, and in the main taking them in the order of their homes — woods, fields, 
and so on. It is abundantly illustrated by both coloured plates and reproduc- 
tions of photographs, and the beginner will find it useful in identifying the 
plants he commonly meets, but often the language used is very technical, and 
often, too, the book reads more like a commonplace book into which everything 
has been put as it was met with, and which is now emptied of its facts without 
digestion. 
" Insect Transformation." By G. H. Carpenter, D.Sc. 8vo. x + 282 pp. ; 
124 figs., 4 plates. (Methuen & Co., London.) 12s. 6d. net. 
This book is intended to be of service to both serious workers and beginners 
in entomology. The information given is a compilation of many modern authors' 
recent researches in this important branch of insect study. Students will find the 
running bibliography in the text of great use. 
There are eight chapters, most of which are devoted to the several groups of 
insects. Chapter vi. gives a recent system in the classification of the order 
" Insecta," with its ever-changing grouping of the families. Most of the 
examples given in this book are British insects, except in those families where 
there are no British representatives. 
The economic entomologist is considered in Chapter vii. on the " Surroundings 
of Growing Insects," showing as it does, amongst other things, the danger of wild 
host-plants carrying over insect pests. On p. 205 we read that the Codling Moth 
lays her eggs on the young twigs ! Surely the eggs are usually laid on the young 
fruit or on the surrounding leaves. 
The last chapter gives a resumd of the subject under discussion, the problems 
of transformation, parallel instances of metamorphosis in Amphibians, Sea 
Urchins, Starfishes and allied families, and, finally, the links with the past in the 
form of fossil insects and their comparison with our present-day species. 
This book is of more use to the serious student than to the amateur, and it 
should find a place in the library of every keen entomologist. 
" British Insect Life." By E. Step, F.L.S. 8vo. v + 264 pp. ; 32 plates, with 
248 figs., and coloured frontispiece. (T. Werner Laurie, London.) 105. 6d. net. 
This book is intended as a guide to the youthful entomologist who is just 
commencing to study this branch of natural science. 
The fourteen chapters are each devoted to one group of insects, the most 
