236 
NATURE NOTES. 
one of whom is responsible for the letterpress, the other for the illustrations, of 
this excellent example of a local history — upon the good use they have made of 
their time. There are hundreds of men in the country, blessed with abundant 
leisure, who would do well to follow the example set by these drapers and grocers 
of Rothbury, and who would not only find in so doing an interest in life for 
themselves, but would be contributing towards that full and complete history of 
our land and its inhabitants which some day or other is certain to be called for. 
We are well aware that we are paying this history a high compliment when we 
say that it reminds us in its thoroughness of Canon Atkinson’s Moorland Parish, 
but the compliment is deserved. The local history from the earliest known 
periods of each of the parishes in the Vale of Whittingham is exhaustively worked 
out, and, with the assistance of clergymen and others, the parish registers have 
been laid under contribution. The chapter devoted to “ folklore ” sums up the 
customs and traditions prevalent among the people, and if the term seems 
extended beyond its usual sense by the inclusion of anecdotes of persons still or 
quite lately living, it must be remembered that popular tradition is always in the 
making, and that much of the folklore of the past clustered round certain promi- 
nent individuals. The people of Whittingham Vale — and not they only — will 
derive much enjoyment from this record of their neighbourhood, but the greatest 
pleasure has deservedly been that of the two compilers, who must, we fear, have 
felt bereft of an occupation when their volume emerged from the press. We 
must not omit to mention that an excellent index brings this capital book to a 
satisfactory conclusion. 
We had put by Mr. Donald McDonald’s Siveet- Scented Flowers and Fragrant 
Leaves (Sampson Low & Co.) for a longer notice than we are able to give it. 
Yet perhaps a short paragraph will suit it best, for were we to review the book at 
length we should be compelled to point out many defects. The subject is a good 
one, as Mr. William Robinson points out in his introduction, and the historical 
sketch which follows this is interesting and readable, though we cannot compli- 
ment Mr. McDonald on his literary style. But when we come to the “alpha- 
betical list of sweet-smelling plants,” which forms the larger portion of the book, 
we are confronted with a vast number of names, many representing plants which 
have the very slightest claim to inclusion, and regarding which no information is 
vouchsafed ; while many which ought to find a place are omitted — e.g., the Lady’s 
Bedstraw {Galium verum). The numerous misspellings and the phraseology 
employed seem to show that the author’s acquaintance with botanical terminology is 
very slight ; he appears to know little of the plants themselves — e.g., he calls the 
Birdsfoot Trefoil “ a variety of clover; ” and his practical knowledge seems often 
at fault, as when he tells us that the Rocket {Hesperis matronalis), so popular in 
cottage gardens, “ is rarely seen outside nursery collections.” It would be easy 
to criticize the book in detail, but it hardly deserves so much attention. We 
must, however, protest against the misleading statement with which the brief 
preface concludes. “The illustrations,” we are told, “were really an after- 
thought on the part of the eminent house that is introducing the book to the 
public : they have been prepared by a first-class firm of horticultural printers, 
and it is hoped will prove an attraction.” No one could gather from this an- 
nouncement that the figures in question are taken — no doubt by arrangement — 
from Messrs. Cassell’s Familiar Garden Flowers and Familiar Trees. 
Messrs. Bell & Sons send us four of their “ Animal Life Readers” — two ( Wild 
and Tame and Dick and His Cat) at lod. each, and two (Old Friends and Rover 
and His Friends) at 8d. All are edited by Miss Carrington, and all (except Dick, 
which is illustrated by F. M. Cooper) have pictures by Mr. Harrison Weir. The 
two latter are for juvenile readers, who are supposed to require large type and whose 
literary acquirements do not extend beyond two syllables ; the former are for 
somewhat older, though still youthful readers. In every respect — binding, print- 
ing, pictures, and letterpress — these are attractive little books, and deserve a 
large sale. The stories are interesting and well told, and there is no attempt to 
harrow the feelings — a feature which is not always absent from the publications 
of the Humanitarian League, for which body these books are published. Messrs. 
Bell also send us another little book by iMiss Carrington — The Dog: its Rights 
