BOOK REVIEWS, 
469 
behold after the prettinesses of the half-tone blocks, which modern 
conditions (and perhaps modern taste) almost compel us to use so 
much ; their faithful presentation of the pose of the plant, and their 
clear-cut directness, form so valuable a feature that we know of no 
other work on British Botany which we can so confidently recommend 
to the seeker after illustrations. 
" Johnson's Gardeners' Dictionary and Cultural Instructor." 
Edited by J. Fraser, F.E.S., and A. Hemsley. New ed. revised and 
enlarged. 8vo. 923 pp. (Routledge, London, 1917.) 12s. net. 
This well-known book, first published in 1846, has been used 
by many a gardener with advantage to himself and his craft. It 
contains alphabetically arranged references to flowering plants, 
ferns and their allies, fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and common plant 
diseases and pests with methods of prevention and remedy. Each 
generic name has a note on its derivation, the main cultural require- 
ments of the genus are briefly noted, and the chief methods of pro- 
pagation, while occasionally a note is made of the garden value of 
the plant. Each specific name is translated, and the height, colour, 
flowering period, native country, and date of introduction are recorded. 
Synonyms have been carefully revised in most cases, and the proof 
corrections have been carefully attended to. The information given 
is, of course, insufficient to enable any unknown plant to be " run 
down," but if the genus is known, some idea of the species may be 
obtained, and the book will act as a general guide to cultivation 
and to the accurate spelling of plant names (except in one direction). 
The small type used is very clear and readable, and although the 
book contains so many pages it is not unwieldy nor heavy to hold. 
It is scarcely to be expected that a book of this sort should be 
free from faults, but it is so good that we are sorry the few obvious 
ones have not been avoided. It would have been better, we 
think, to have followed the now recognized rule with regard to the 
capitalization of specific names derived from the names of persons, 
but we find, e.g., Oenothera Sellowii but Feijoa sellowiana, following 
an obsolete method. The latter specific name is translated ' Sellowian,' 
although in some other cases names of the same form, e.g., Hymenaea 
candolliana, the translation is the preferable form ' DeCandolle's,' 
thus distinguishing the name from one derived from that of a place, 
as Doronicum peruvianum (Peruvian). The handlists and lists of 
new plants emanating from Kew have been largely used for informa- 
tion as to new plants in cultivation, and perhaps as a result of relying 
too greatly upon these the information and lists of species are not 
always up to date as is claimed for them. Godetia Schaminii is said 
to have been introduced in 1906, whereas it was grown in the R.H.S. 
gardens at Chiswick many years before that. The handsome Berberis 
verruculosa and B. Sargentiana, Primula Winteri (flowering freely 
now outdoors after all the severe and trying weather of the past 
