December 31, 1904. 
Gardening World 
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Views and Reviews. 
Leaves and their Forms.* 
The book on " Leaves ” is the second 
volume of the Cambridge biological series on 
trees, the first of which we reviewed some 
time ago. This second volume runs to 348 
pages, including a good index. The only 
complaint we should make in connection 
with the numerous excellent illustrations is 
that there is no separate index for them, 
neither are they indicated in the general 
index, though one may find them by refer¬ 
ence to all the pages enumerated in the index 
on which something is stated regarding each 
name there recorded. The first part of the 
book is devoted to a general view of the 
subject, while the second gives attention to 
special matters in connection with the trees 
and shrubs under discussion. Some of these 
descriptions are very exact and minute, 
though there may appear a little discrepancy 
occasionally on account of the different views 
held by others with regard to the correct 
nomenclature. 
Mr. Ward makes excuses for the use of 
technical terms, but scarcely an apology, 
though in a book of this kind we think an 
apology is scarcely necessary. He, himself, 
in reference to carpentry or a game of cricket 
says that technical terms are necessary in 
such cases in order to indicate the different 
parts, features and rules of the game or the 
art, as the case may be. We think it almost 
impossible without a great deal of round¬ 
about and discursive explanation to get at 
the exact meaning or description of various 
forms of leaves, parts of flowers, and so on 
without the use of technical terms. These, 
however, are well explained in a separate 
and exhaustive glossary of all the more tech¬ 
nical words employed. He does, however, 
say that the unnecessary multiplication of 
technical terms leaves room for the legiti¬ 
mate claims of complaint. During the last 
decade or two we ourselves have been much 
bothered by the excessive use of different 
names for the same thing employed by recent 
authors, those in this country and in Ger¬ 
many being equally great sinners in that re¬ 
spect. It would simplify matters somewhat 
*“ Trees: A Handbook of Forest Botany for the Wood¬ 
lands and the Laboratory.” By H. Marshall Ward, Sc.D., 
F.K.S., etc. Vol. II. Leaves. With Illustrations. Cam¬ 
bridge : At the University Press. London : C. J. Clay and 
Sons, Cambridge University Press Warehouse, Ave Maria 
Lane, and H. K. Lewis, 136, Gower Street, W.C. Glasgow : 
C. J. Clay and Sons, 50, Wellington Street. 1904. Price 
4s. 6d. nett. 
if authors were to pay more attention to the 
use of the same names for the same part of a 
plant, even though it may be in slightly dif¬ 
ferent form. We see no reason for a separate 
name to describe the same structure or part 
of a plant merely because it may be slightly 
modified from the ordinary or common form. 
Anyone looking through this book cannot 
but be impressed with the immense amount 
of labour that some of the artists have spent 
in the making of their diagrams or illustra- 
tions. In the case of many leaves one can 
almost fancy he is looking at the skeleton, 
owing to the reproduction of even the finest 
veins observable by the naked eye. Other 
markings seen by the eye are also reproduced 
which would actually have been absent in 
skeletonised leaves. We refer to such ex¬ 
amples as the leaves of the Wayfaring Tree, 
the Norway Maple, Sweet Chestnut, Walnut, 
Willow, Barberry, Lime, Plane, Ivy and 
many others. The leaves which have been 
very exactly reproduced in these respects 
have mostly been drawn by Ettingskauseu, 
evidently a German, and like his confreres, 
fond of detail. These are, of course, repre¬ 
sented by wood cuts taken from such draw¬ 
ings. In other cases the illustrations con¬ 
sist of less detailed drawing dependent upon 
the structure or forms that have to be shown 
up. A number of reproductions, evidently 
from photographs, have been reduced to 
drawings, as in books intended for students 
photographs fail to show some of the points 
of botanical interest. 
The diagrams on pages 22 and 23 serve to 
give the student an idea of the shape of 
leaves to which certain terms are applied. 
These diagrams may be taken as indicating 
what the various forms should be, but in a 
state of nature they are seldom exactly repre¬ 
sented by leaves, although in many cases the 
similarity or approach is considerable. The 
value of these diagrams, however, is that the 
student may fix his attention upon certain 
forms, and then apply them to those leaves 
which are most nearly approximate to the 
same. As a rule, examples are given of 
trees or shrubs whose leaves represent these 
various forms. Provided the student has 
access to these plants and knows them, lie 
will be able to give himself a good lesson in 
the forms of leaves by comparing them with 
these diagrams. We cannot over-rate the 
value of a knowledge of this kind to all those 
who take upon themselves the art of descrip¬ 
tion so as to inform their fellows concerning 
plants or parts of the same which they have 
in mind. 
