ioo Analyses of Books. [February, 
as Cicindela , Calosoma , in the more splendid Carabs, in many 
of the Buprestidae, the Longicornes, the Phanaei, among birds 
in the pheasants, the trogons, and in certain lizards and 
serpents. 
In a chapter on “ Catkins and Almond Blossom ” — which latter 
he does not think pretty — Mr. Allen states — “ None of our own 
English trees has such a brilliant spring blossom as the flowering 
almond.” He must forget the Mezereon, whose flowers com- 
pletely anticipate its leaves. 
We note the remark ihat “ you will never find a brilliant mass 
of heavy bloom on a stridtly annual plant, and all the more 
massive forms are provided for beforehand by means of bulbs, 
corms, or tubers.” This generalisation is followed up by an un- 
gracious sneer at certain plants which are mostly admired. He 
speaks of “ deceptive and papery flowers, like the poppies or the 
hand-to-mouth convolvulus, which manage to make a great deal 
of show at very little real expense. They spend all they 
have on a little gaudy colour, thinly spread out over an ex- 
tremely large flat surface.” The man who can speak thus of 
the morning glory cannot be implicitly trusted on questions of 
beauty. 
Speaking of the “ Mole at Home,” Mr. Allen tells us that 
“ wunt or wont is the good old English name of those under- 
ground animals which we now-a-days know as moles.” We 
doubt if the name “ wunt ” was ever known in the north and east 
of England. In the most retired and old-fashioned parts of 
Lancashire and Yorkshire they were known as “ mowdiwarps ” or 
“ mowdiwarts,” i.e., the animals which warp or turn the mould. 
The author does well to remind his readers that the common 
diagrams of the mole’s underground habitation are “ ridiculously 
overdone in the matter of systematic completeness.” 
Double flowers do not meet with Mr. Allen’s approbation, and 
the following outburst is really unpardonable : — “ Our cottage 
garden will not away with your modern Gloxinias, and heaven 
only knows what other newfangled things called by doubtfully 
classical names unlovelier than themselves.” If the Gloxinia is 
unlovely, the same must be said of every other flower, and of 
most with a fearful a fortiori . And yet Mr. Allen can speak of 
the “ ornamental value of the common wind-fertilised plants,” 
which he himself admits bear upon them the mark of degrada- 
tion and degeneracy. He says “ our ordinary taste in the 
matter of flowers is still a trifle barbaric.” What if we say 
that the decreasing fondness for bright colour is a mark of racial 
degeneracy, just like the love for bitter beverages, which seems 
to spring up in a nation just as dyspepsia and general debility 
become more common ? Pure bright colours may be ill-assorted, 
but that is no justification for the sage greens and other dirty 
shades now coming into request. 
We regret that we cannot carry our examination of this work 
