THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
135 
IRecent Ipublications. 
“Agricultural Botany,” by John Percival, Professor of Botany at the 
Agricultural College, Wye, England, has been published by Henry 
Holt & Co., New York. 
T. Y. Crowell & Co., New York, announce new editions of Balzac’s 
works, popular, library and de luxe; Mrs. Browning’s complete 
poetical works ; Chancer’s complete works; Burns’ complete works ; 
the Copley series of popular books by the best authors, in limp 
leather. 
Little, Brown & Co., Boston, have just published “A Life of Francis 
Parkman;” “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,” three translations; 
“Shadowings,” by Lafcadio Hearn; “.Tames Martineau Twelve 
Great Artists,” by William Howe Downes, art critic of the Boston 
Transcript; “The World’s Discoverers.” 
“L’Aiglon,” by Edmond Rostand, as played by Miss Maud Adams ; 
C. D. Gibson’s new book, “Americus,” containing 90 sketches and car¬ 
toons ; and “Mr. Dooley’s Philosophy,” by F. P. Dunne, frontispiece 
in color, illustrations by Kemble and Opper, are new publications an¬ 
nounced by R. H. Russell, New York City. 
Hamlin Garland’s “Eagle’s Heart” is in the new list of D. Appleton 
& Co.’s publications; also “The Art of Writing English,”a manual 
for students, by J. M. D. Meiklejohn, M. A. ; “ The Boers in War,” by 
Howard E. Hillegas ; “ Clearing Houses : Their History, Methods and 
Administration,” by President James G. Cannon, of the Fourth Na¬ 
tional Bank, New York City. 
The Temple Edition of Dickens, make in 40 volumes, by J. M. Dent 
&Co., London, is announced by Doubleday, Page.&Co., New York City. 
Each volume has a colored frontispiece, a silk book-marker, and a 
book-plate. Each set is numbered. The binding is the flexible lamb¬ 
skin in dark-green, with gold stampings, made only by Mr. Dent. 
There are but 400 sets of the limited edition available. 
“The Strenuous Life,” by Theodore Roosevelt, with portrait, has 
been published by the Century Co., New York; also new editions of 
Governor Roosevelt’s well-known works; “ My Winter Garden,” by 
Maurice Thompson ; the Century Classics, a new series of the World’s 
best books, edited by men of letters; “The Gospel of Wealth,” by 
Andrew Carnegie ; “ Oliver Cromwell,” by John Morley. 
J. B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, announce “Famous American Belles 
of the Nineteenth Century,” by Virginia T. Peacock ; “ Great Battles 
of the World,” by Stephen Crane; “Literary Rambles at Home and 
Abroad,” by Dr. Theodore L. Wolfe ; “Stories of Famous Songs,” by 
L. J. Fitzgerald ; “Rambles in Colonial Byways,” by Rufus Rockwell 
Wilson; “Boy: A Sketch;” by Marie Corelli; “Ray’s Daughter,” a 
story of Manila, by Capt. Charles King. 
“ The World’s Work ” is the title of a new illustrated monthly maga¬ 
zine, the first number of which has just been issued by Doubleday, 
Page & Co., New York City. The design is to cover everything of 
contemporaneous interest and achievement, with no waste of words. 
The illustrations are of generous size; the type and pages are large ; it 
is sewed like a book, not wired. A section tells the busy man what are 
the tendencies in the chief businesses and professions, and without sta¬ 
tistics or dry facts. 25 cents per number ; $ 3.00 per year. 
“The Practice of Typography,” a treatise on the processes of type¬ 
making, the point system, the names, sizes, styles, and prices of plain 
printing types, is the title of a volume by Theodore Low De Vinne, 
just issued by the Century Co., New York. This is a clear exposition 
of the principles of the art of making type, by one who is recognized 
everywhere as a high authority. From ancient to modern times the 
history of the art is traced and clearly explained by illustration and by 
sample. It covers a great field in a remarkably complete manner con¬ 
sidering the size of the volume, and is a valuable reference book by 
reason of its excellent index. The typography is the faultless work of 
the famous DeVinne Press. Pp. 403 . Cloth $ 2 . New York: The 
Century Co. 
“A Book for All Readers” is the very appropriate title of a work by 
Ainsworth Rand Spofford, for thirty-two years the Librarian of Con¬ 
gress, and now the Chief Assistant Librarian. Recognized as a seer 
among librarians, Mr. Spofford has here given, clearly and concisely 
stated, some of the results of his rich experience in the field of book¬ 
collecting and handling. He has had charge of the 840,000 volumes in 
the Library of Congress, in Washington. “ When we survey the really 
illimitable field of human knowledge,” he says, “ the vast accumulation 
of works already printed and the ever-increasing flood of new books 
poured out by the modern press, the first feeling which is apt to arise 
in the mind is one of dismay, if not of despair. But the reflection 
comes to our mind that, after all, the really important books bear but 
a small portion to the mass.” Mr. Spofford treats authoritatively and 
most entertainingly of the choice of books, book buying, the art of 
book binding, the enemies of books, pamphlet and periodical literature, 
the art of reading, the history of libraries, classification, rare books, 
bibliography, etc. To any one who loves books and wishes to know 
much about them, Mr. Spofford’s woik cannot fail to be of absorbing 
interest. 8-vo; parchment back. Pp. 500 . $ 2 . 00 . New York and 
London: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 
In his annual fall and spring catalogue, J. W. Kerr, Denton, Md., 
has this to say on the subject of “ Propagation ”: In growing nursery 
stock, the methods of propagation, as well as the stocks used, and cul¬ 
ture thereof, are matters that receive the most careful consideration. 
Vagarits at variance with common sense and the teachings of Nature, 
as to uselessness of anything but piece of a tap root to trees for orch¬ 
ards, or the worthlessness of trees propagated on any but “whole-roots,” 
are not resorted to for notoriety sake, or to catch the trade of the unin¬ 
formed. Orchard demonstration or test, is safer than razor-edged, hair¬ 
splitting theories. “ The proof of the pudding is the eating of it”—a 
somewhat trite aphorism—applies with force to this propagation ques¬ 
tion. It is pig-headed to maintain that a certain line of procedure is 
the only one rational way, when no other has been tried. “ Prove all 
things, and hold fast to that which is good.” The large test orchards 
and experimental grounds attached to my nursery, afford ample oppor¬ 
tunity for proving, and from year to year the good is gleaned and pre¬ 
served. Many shop-worn theories—the surviving relatives of which too 
frequently find place in the columns of horticultural and agricultural 
papers,—are by this proving plan, quietly entombed, (“ requiescat in 
pace ”). The imagination of the manager of these nurseries has not at¬ 
tained to that standard of impressionable receptiveness as to be influ¬ 
enced or moved by the gauzy logic of the poetical philosophers of fruit¬ 
growing who maintain, viz : “That to have best results, it is impera¬ 
tive to select scions for propagating a variety, from the tree that bears 
the finest specimens—and only the very strongest and robust scions from 
such trees &c., &c.” If a variety is genuine, and the trees healthy, 
scions from such, used for propagating its kind, will produce uniform 
results; as is proven by the standing of such apples as Ben Davis, such 
pears as Bartlett, &c., that were propagated by common sense methods 
somewhat previous to the birth or discovery perhaps of this profound 
philosophy. The propagation of some peach trees—five years ago— 
under the inspiration of this double-distilled theory, stand in my orch¬ 
ard as silent witnesses of its moon-shiny corporeality. Measured by the 
old fashioned yard stick of practical test, the above is not the only false 
doctrine emanating from “too much theory and too little practice ” 
©bituaiT. 
Thomas C. Austin, Suflield, Conn., who had been in the nursery and 
florist business for fifty years, died in October. 
Harrison A. Lyon died in RocLester, N. Y., October 17 th, aged 85 
years. He was engaged in the nursery business with A. J. Fisk and 
later with L. W. Hall. 
Lucius D. Davis, a prominent citizen of Newport, R. I., died October 
30 th, aged 75 years. He was deeply interested in horticulture. His 
handsome book “ Ornamental Shrubs ” was published last year. 
Edward Pynaert died October 28 , in Ghent. Belgium, where he was 
born in 1835 . He was a professor in the Government School of Horti¬ 
culture while he was engaged in Louis Van Houtte’s establishment. He 
was vice-president of the Syndicate of Belgium Nurserymen, a judge 
in the Tribunal of Commerce and a town counselor. He managed a 
large nursery establishment,now conducted by his son, Charles Pynaert, 
and achieved reputation as a landscape gardener. 
