174 
NATURE NOTES 
seems less saturated with the details of his subject, the main fault we have to find 
with this volume is a technical one : it is somewhat too loosely stitched. Such 
books should stand somewhat rough handling in the pedestrian’s use of them. 
\\ hatever wood the chairs within the sacrarium at Waltham may be made of, 
no tulip-tree “ flourished for centuries in the old Abbey gardens,” until at least 
the Abbey of Harold had long ceased to be an abbey ; for the tulip-tree is an 
American species not known in Europe till the close of the seventeenth century. 
Mr. Bunting should, moreover, have pointed out that Waltham Cross has been 
considerably restored in modern times. These are, however, but small matters, 
and his book is on the whole an excellent guide to some interesting spots which 
lie very close at hand for dwellers in the metropolis. 
Country Rambles round Birmingham and Week-end Holidays. By Edgar 
Brooks. Illustrated. Allday, Birmingham. Second Edition. Price 6d. 
This is a modest treatment of a big subject. Mr. Brooks ranges from Elmley 
Castle and Broadw'ay to Church Stretton, and though he has fourteen pretty 
photographic illustrations and generally mentions railway-fares and recommends 
hotels, Lichfield is dismissed in a page of six little paragraphs. If the author 
will study the productions of the Homeland Association and Mr. “Walker 
Miles,” he will learn how to educate the people of the Midland metropolis to 
appreciate their surroundings. 
A Text-book of Botany. Part I. The Anatomy of Flowering Plants. By 
M. Yates. Whittaker and Co. 
In its host of short formal definitions of anatomical terms, this little book 
resembles the catechisms of forty years ago. It contains over 400 illustrations, 
but most of these are seriously disimproved by having obviously been drawn by 
one unaccustomed to this class of work. Etymologies and — more important by 
far — examples are given throughout, and the chapter on fertilisation, though very 
brief, is well done, though we do not understand the printing of opening words 
such as “ A few plants,” “ They are small ” and “ Enormous quantities,” in 
black type. We also notice that, while Gynandropsis and Ampelopsis appear 
with small initials, such specific names as vulgaris and officinalis have capitals. 
We are not sure that students ought not to get such matters into their own note- 
books and their heads from what they see in the laboratory or on the blackboard ; 
but we know from experience that such a summary is often useful to the teacher 
as a reminder of the numerous varieties of form. For years we used Dr. Cooke’s 
“ Structural Botany,” and Lindley’s “ Descriptive Botany,” in this way. 
How to Find and Name Wild Flowers. By Thomas Fox, F. L. S. With an 
Introduction by F. E. Hulme, F.L.S. Illustrated by the Author. Cassell 
and Co. Price is. 6d., or in cloth 2S. 
There is a constant danger besetting the botanical tyro that he may look upon 
the name of a plant as an end in itself ; whilst to “ develop the powers of dose 
observation, careful contrast and absolute verification ” we know of no method 
better than the study of some complete flora, such as“ Hooker ” or “ Babington.” 
Beginners will, however, shirk this difficult counsel of perfection for any “royal 
road ” to a name, especially an “English” name. It would certainly be a gain 
if we had in England, at the price of three or four shillings, such a complete 
systematic flora as those provided for French students by MM. Bonnier and De 
Layens : as it is, Hayward’s unillustrated “Botanists’ Pocket Book” is our 
nearest substitute. In this pleasingly light, well-printed and cheap volume 
(which is rather too “tall” for pocket use) the author arranges some 1,200 
British flowering plants, a fairly large proportion of the whole, primarily accord- 
ing to their average month of flowering, secondarily by colour, and thirdly by size. 
He gives a brief but well-illustrated glossary, and in Part I. uses only “ English ” 
names, such as “ Blunt-fingered Speedwell ” or “ Calycine Alyssum.” By 
numbers here affixed it is possible to refer to Part II. in which the scientific 
names are given in systematic order, with the average day of flowering and the 
geographical range. The nomenclature adopted is that of the “Students’ Flora,” 
and the text is commendably free from misplaced capitals and other misprints. 
We cannot see that the few photographic illustrations add in any way to the 
utility of the book. 
