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Review. 
ALPINE PLANTS. 
The Plants of Alpine Switzerland. 
By E. A. Newell At’ber. London, John Murray, 1910, 
pp. XI and 355. Price 7s. 6d. net. 
M R. ARBER has written a book which will be very useful to 
those visitors to Switzerland who, without actually being 
botanists, desire to know something more than the ordinary tourist 
ever acquires, or wishes to acquire, about the fascinating Alpine 
flora. The author distinguishes the different natural habitats within 
the Alpine zone, such as Alpine pastures, meadows, woods, rocks, 
etc., and then picks out some representative groups of species from 
each, the Crowfoots and their allies, the Anemones, the Gentians, 
the Androsaces and Soldanellas, and" so on, and describes their 
structure and habit, calling particular attention to their natural 
history. He writes clearly and attractively, and with knowledge, 
and even professional botanists may find a good deal to interest 
them in his discussions. If there is a fault to be found it is that 
the author rides his teleological horse a little too hard at times, so 
that the hardened and sceptical reader begins to wonder whether 
all the “ adaptations ” really originated for the purpose suggested, 
and whether the plants might not perhaps in many cases get on 
quite well without them ! But perhaps this is hypercriticism as 
applied to a book which is not primarily addressed to the man of 
science ; the adaptational point of view will certainly serve best to 
interest the general reader, and deeper considerations may well 
appear to the author to be rather out of place in such a work. 
The photographs of alpine plants in their natural habitats are 
of quite exceptional beauty and excellence, and apart from its other 
merits would lend the work a distinction of its own. 
A.G.T. 
. ~v ■ . . ■- 
Madley, Printer, 151, Whitfield Street, Fitzroy Square, W. 
