POISONOUS PLANTS OF ALL COUNTRIES 
243 
indebtedness to Mr. W. Miller “ for the many culled from his 
Dictionary of the English Names of Plants ” ; as we pointed out 
when noticing that work, Mr. Miller omitted to make a like acknow¬ 
ledgement of his “indebtedness ” to the Dictionary of English Plant 
Names, which he largely appropriated. There is a large number of 
scratchy little figures “ reduced one-fifth: the Micro-Fungi and 
Bacteria are magnified 500 diameters.” 
To each plant a line or two of poetry is appended. Mr. Bernhard- 
Smith has evidently a wide acquaintance with the works of the poets, 
including those of “Anon.,” but it is difficult to conjecture on what 
principle his extracts are selected. Thus to Helleborus foetid as is 
appended: 
“Belle of the forest, everywhere she dips 
And dances prettily and pouts her lips.” 
Shelley’s lines 
“ In the warm hedge grew lush eglantine, 
Green cow-bind, and the moonlight coloured may ” 
are placed under Cicuta virosa , apparently because that plant is called 
cow-bane; “long purples” comes under Digitalis; and to apply 
“ Cow parsley skirts the hawthorn hedge ” 
to PEthusa is hardly fair to Rossetti, the author of the line. The 
book might indeed be employed as a guessing game with much success : 
who could suppose that 
“ Flowers that squander 
Gold as golden as the gold of hives ” 
could apply to Euphorbia portlandicaA or that “foul standergrass ” 
related to Sedan album ? 
Misprints abound, especially in the appendix of “ plants reputed 
poisonous” and in the remarkably full index—“ Arictus hypogrea ” 
for example, in which it is difficult to recognise Arachis , “ PPsculus 
hippo cast aneum” and “ Adonis ammensisP As we said at the 
beginning, it is a curious little book, and we do not see to whom 
it could be useful. 
BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, etc. 
Advantage was taken of the last day of the Oxford Summer 
Term (June 23) for a pleasing University function in remembering 
to celebrate the Tercentenary of the founding of the Oxford Physic 
Garden (July 25, 1621). Summer refreshments were provided by 
Magdalen College fora large gathering of distinguished guests, and 
speeches appropriate to the occasion were delivered by the Marquess 
Curzon, Sir David Prain, Professor Seward, and the President of 
Magdalen (Sir Herbert Warren). Lord Curzon, who presided as 
Chancellor of the University, expatiated on the delights of gardening 
generally to the man of affairs, and Sir David Prain contributed 
a dissertation on the importance of the Garden in the history of 
botanical science and its more celebrated benefactors and alumni; this 
is printed in full in the Gardeners' Chronicle for July 14. r lhe 
present Sherardian Professor (Sir Frederick Keeble) also made a special 
appeal for new benefactions. From Mr. R. T. Gunther’s genial little 
