PART IT. 
REVIEWS AND EXTRACTS. 
REVIEW. 
ALPHABET OF GARDENING, 
By James Bennie, Esq. M. A. Professor of Zoology, King’s College, London, 
And Author of the Alphabet of Botany. 
Small 12 mo, 128 pages, Price 2s. 6d. 
In reviewing the Alphabets of Insects and Botany, in volume 1, pages 275, and 
368, we expressed an opinion that they were both calculated to be very useful to 
persons unacquainted with the rudiments of either of those branches of science. 
On a careful examination of the present one, we have unavoidably arrived at 
the same conclusion. The author, within the small compass of 120 pages, treats 
on the Food of Garden Plants, including Garden Chemistry, Garden Physics, 
and Garden Physiology. Philosophy of Garden Processes and operations, in 
eluding the Scientific Principles of manuring, digging, and raking, seed sowing, 
transplanting, striking, grafting, and budding, pruning, training, blooming, fruit¬ 
ing, multiplying and preserving, and lastly forcing. LTnder these several heads 
the most essential knowledge is supplied to the young gardener, not couched in 
abstruse language, but written in the most plain, and simple style. The scientific 
terms, however, are appended in notes, at the bottom of each page, where the 
explanation of them occurs. We furnish a few extracts, which will give our 
readers a tolerably correct idea of the style and character of the work. Under 
the head “ Garden Physics,” when speaking on the texture of soils, the author 
says, 
“One of the best methods of ascertaining the capability of any soil to take 
up and retain moisture, is that described by Mr. C. Johnson, for which purpose 
he employs the following apparatus, fig. 2. a is a lamp; b a stool with a hole 
in the seat for receiving c , a shallow vessel, closely covered, but having a pipe, d 
for the escape of steam; li is a pair of accurate scales. In order to employ this 
apparatus, put a small.quantity of the soil to be tried on the top of the tin ves¬ 
sel, in which water is kept briskly boiling for half an hour, so as to roughly 
dry the soil by expelling its moisture. Take 10 grains accurately weighed of 
D 
