DWARF AND SLOW-GROWING CONTFERS 
317 
of distinct or distinguishable forms. No less than 50 pages of the 
hook are taken up with the genus Picea, there being over 60 dwarf 
forms of the common Spruce alone. In this connection it is signifi¬ 
cant to note that the forest-garden at Adlisberg, Switzerland, in 
1913 contained a group of Spruce trees 13 years old, all of which had 
arisen from the seed of one tree of Picea excelsa ; about 53 per cent, 
of these were dwarf cushion-like plants varying from a few inches to 
a few feet, the others being more or less normal in habit. 
Mr. Hornibrook has spent a good deal of time trying to disen¬ 
tangle the nomenclature, which is in great confusion largely owing 
to the fact* that there are in some cases at least half a dozen names 
for the same variety. Again, owing to the increased demand for 
plants, many forms are masquerading under wrong names, the true 
plants having in many instances been lost to cultivation. Judging 
from our own experience of conifers, which is considerable, it is 
impossible to make out many of these dwarf garden forms from 
descriptions, often inadequate, of the shoots, buds and foliage ; indeed, 
the majority can only be distinguished by habit; hence it is in 
this direction that the excellent photographs which illustrate the 
book will prove of value. The indiscriminate use of capitals for 
specific names somewhat offends the eye, but this is a minor defect 
in this well-written and valuable contribution to horticultural litera¬ 
ture. A. B. J. 
BOOK-NOTES, NEWS, etc. 
In issuing the second part of his Danmarhs Mosser (Kobenhavn : 
Gyldendalske Boghandel, 1923 ; pp. xix, 569 ; 29 pis. & figs.) Herr C. 
Jensen completes his treatise on the Bryophyta of Denmark and the 
Faeroes. In the first part (1915) hedescribed the Hepaticse and Sphag- 
nacese; in the second he treats of the Andreaeales and Bryales. In 
attempting a natural classification the author has departed somewhat 
from the systems to which we are accustomed in this country: for 
instance, he has placed the Pleurocarpi before the Acrocarpi. In dividing 
up the Bryinese he has placed the thirty-six families in six sections 
—Hypnoidere, Gfrimmioideae, Dicranoidea?, Tortuloide®, Funarioidese, 
Brvoidese—essentially in accordance with their gametophyte cha¬ 
racters, the haplolepideous families occupying a median position ; the 
heterolepideous genus Pncalypta is tacked on to the Tortuloidem. 
In nomenclature, he tells us, he has followed the principle of priority, 
but in doubtful cases has chosen a more recent name. The following 
unfamiliar names will be found— Stroemia Hagen, Paraleucobryum 
Loeske for sections of OrthotricJium and Picranum respectively; 
Tortella Liinpr. is used generically in place of Mollia ; Aloina Kindb. 
for a group detached from Tortula ; Aulacomitrium Mitt, in place of 
Glyphomitrium. The text is entirely in Danish, and therefore diffi¬ 
cult for the English student. The descriptions of the species,, 
genera, etc., appear to be quite adequate, and are illustrated with 
plenty of figures ; the identification of specimens is much facilitated 
by the ample provision of keys. Several northern species and genera 
and one family which have not yet been observed in Denmark are 
included in the work, in a distinctive smaller type.—A. (I, • 
