12 
THE FLORAL MAGAZINE. 
lawn for days together. It is also very easily worked ; 
a boy of twelve or thirteen can use a 14-inch mower 
with great ease; moreover, it cuts closer than any 
machine we have used previously, and does not leave 
any strands of grass, which are always very unsightly. 
Provided with one of these, and one of Follows and 
Bates^ small Climax movers for edgings, no one need 
ever make the excuse that it is difficult to keep a lawn 
in order; and when we recollect the old days, when the 
scythe was the only implement that could he used, and 
how few men could properly wield it, we feel that we 
are fallen on good days when work can be so easily got 
through with the many new inventions from time to 
time introduced by home and foreign inventors. 
REVIEWS. 
A General System of Botany, Descriptive and Analytical. 
By Emm. Le Maout and J. Decaisne. Translated by 
Mrs. Hooker, and edited, with additions, by Dr. 
Hooker. Longmans and Co. 
The English student will be grateful to the translator 
and editor for presenting him with this valuable work 
in a truly English dress. Though confessedly a trans- 
lation, it is to a considerable extent a new and original 
work. In the first place, the matter is rearranged in 
accordance with the plan adopted in English schools. 
Secondly, twenty-four orders omitted in the original, and 
a conspectus of orders arranged in groups, are added. 
Thirdly, a terse and concise English style of expression 
replaces the diffuse and wordy style of the French, which, 
though it may not be without its use in the lecture-i’oora 
in permitting the mind to dwell longer upon and thus 
grasp more firmly the ideas to be conveyed, is tedious in 
a book, where conciseness and precision are most favour- 
able to clearness of conception. The work is divided into 
two parts — the first treating of the Organography, Ana- 
tomy, and Physiology of Plants ; the second giving De- 
scriptions and Illustrations of the Orders. To these are 
added an Appendix by the Editor, comprising a brief 
History of the Natural Method of Classification and a 
Synopsis of the Classes, Subclasses, Cohorts, and Orders. 
Three good Indexes — one of technical terms, another of 
names, &c., and the third of plants mentioned for their 
uses — conclude the volume. The woodcuts, 5500 in 
number, and constituting one-third of the volume, are 
good, and in some cases beautiful, but as a whole do not 
equal in artistic beauty and finish the series illustrat- 
ing M. Baillon’s “ Natural History of Plants,” now in 
course of publication. — F. L. S. 
Select Ferns and Ly copods, British, and Exotic ; com- 
prising descriptions of one hundred and fifty choice 
species and varieties, Syc. Sfc. By Benjamin Samuee 
Williams, F.R.II.S. London : Published and sold 
by the Author. 
Tins handsome and compendious treatise, the work of 
Mr. Williams, of the Victoria and Paradise Nursery, is 
now, in this its second edition, made even more accep- 
table than the former one, to which fern-growers have 
for some time been in the habit of looking as their 
authority in all matters connected with their culture. 
We have to congratulate Mr. Williams on his success as 
an author, at wbich we are not indeed surprised, for he 
manages to combine both theory and practice. In his 
preface he modestly says, “ That the rapid circulation of 
the former large issue of the work fully proves that it 
has met the wants of amateurs, and the continued 
demand necessitates the publication of a second edition. 
In this my readers will find added such of the newly 
introduced species and varieties of these charming plants 
as have proved to be worthy of a place in every choice 
collection.” 
In the arrangement of his book Mr. Williams gives 
us instructions as to the making of a fernery, how 
to grow them in baskets, in pots, or the open air ; he 
also enters on the subject of ferns suitable for the deco- 
ration of the dinner-table ; how to grow them in cases ; 
lists suitable for Wardian cases ; while copious indices, 
both of the foreign and British ferns, are also given. 
A number of illustrations add to the value and beauty 
of the book, and altogether it is one well worthy of a 
place in the library of every lover of plants. 
MR. CHARLES J. PERRY. 
We cannot permit the death of this ardent florist to 
pass without a word of notice. His productions have 
so frequently enriched the pages of our Magazine — for 
his Verbenas stood unrivalled — and we have known 
him for so many years, that it is only due to his memory 
to say that a more enthusiastic florist never lived. As 
a raiser of Verbenas and Dahlias his name will be long 
remembered, while as an exhibitor, he took in Leeds, 
Birmingham, London, &c., a very distinguished place. 
We regret to say that his latter days were very sad, as 
he sudered from a complication of disorders. He will 
be greatly missed, not only by his family, but by a 
numerous circle of friends. 
The splendid collection of hardy Rhododendrons belong- 
ing to Messrs. J. Waterer and Sons, Bagshot, Surrey, 
which for the last twenty-three years has proved so attrac- 
tive at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent^s Park, will 
this year be exhibited at the Alexandra Park, Muswell 
Hill, where a large space is being covered for the pui’- 
pose. From the appearance of the plants the show 
promises to be one of the best ever seen. We under- 
stand that Messrs. Lane, of Berkhampstead, will furnish 
the show at the RegenPs Park this summer. — Journal 
of Horticulture. 
