i86 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Our Book Uable 
A Manual on the Production and Cultivation of the Peony. 
By C. S. Harrison. 
This monograph of 64 pages, written in popular vein and 
nicely illustrated, places before the eye of the reader, in an 
impressive form, the leading points of merit of this old but 
until recently practically unappreciated flower. Mr. 
Harrison has been a peony enthusiast for a number of y^ears. 
In his Nebraska home he finds that this is one of the plants 
which winters and summers and blooms on time, notwith¬ 
standing western winds, droughts, and cold winters. In 
addition to eulogizing the peony and describing the leading 
varieties, Mr. Harrison has added a chapter on perennial 
flowers which is timely and useful. 
The Old Farmer and His Almanac. George Lyman 
Kittredge. 400 pages, illustrated. Publishers, Wm. 
Ware & Co., Boston. 
This is an exceedingly interesting story of New England 
life. The skeleton of the series of sketches is furnished by^ 
the early numbers of the Farmer’s Almanac, first published 
in 1792 by Robert B. Thomas. This almanac began in a 
small and unpretentious way, and continued for more than 
a century. The author addressed himself to the men of 
his own time, and, as was the habit of almanacs of that 
period, dabbled in matters very much aside from pure 
meteorological records or conditions. Thomas was not a 
genius like Franklin, but he was a keenly intellectual man, 
alert, and anxious to further the well being of his fellow men 
in every manner possible. The book is essentially a mis¬ 
cellany. Nevertheless, in these disconnected chapters and 
paragraphs there is much of suggestion and value to the 
20th century citizen. The author well says the minor 
antiquities are not to be despised. They have their actual 
value and their suggestive importance. The author has 
taken the topics suggested by the almanac, and has 
developed these by having recourse to the older New 
England writers, and to the printed observations of foreign 
travellers in America, of which there were not a few after 
the War of the Independence. The following is the unique 
title page of this almanac for the year 1795: 
“The Farmer’s Almanac, calculated on a new and im¬ 
proved plan for the year of our Lord, 1795, being the third 
after Leap Year, and nineteenth of the Independence of 
America, fitted for the town of Boston, but will serve for 
any of the adjoining states, containing besides a large num¬ 
ber of astronomical calculations, and farmer’s calendar for 
every month in the year, and as great a variety as any other 
almanac of new and entertaining matter.’’ 
Robert B. Thomas, the author of the almanac, has the 
following to say on agricultural matters. It shows per¬ 
spicacity coupled with modesty. 
“My precepts and observations on agriculture, I have 
the vanity to believe, have been approved of by farmers in 
general. Agriculture forms an ample field in this country 
for the ingenious to expatiate upon, in which improve¬ 
ments are making every day; and as my greatest ambition 
is to make myself useful in this way, ’tis my sincere wish 
that men of experience and observation in agriculture 
would be kind enough to forward me such hints towards 
improvement, as are capable of being rendered serviceable 
and of general utility to the public.’’ 
The volume is attractively printed, interestingly illus¬ 
trated, and can be confidently commended to all those who 
are interested in the folk lore and traditional aspects of 
country living. 
Rural Hygiene, by Henry N. Ogden. 5 X 7 K- 434 
pages including index. Illustrated. Published by 
The MacMillan Company, New York, 1911. Price. 
$1.50- 
Indicative of the rapidly expanding interests in affairs 
relating to life in the open country, yet of prime value to 
the farmer and owner of country home, is the question of 
sanitation. This subject is old and a thoroughly con- 
sideied one to the resident of the city and the larger town 
but, curiously enough, very small attention has been paid 
to the matter of providing against unsanitary arrangement 
of dwelling and outbuildings in the farm compound. Yet 
in conditions of this kind, the need for precautions making 
for safe and healthy living, while not so immediately 
apparent and pressing, yet becomes even more acute in the 
country than the city, as the establishment takes on age. 
This argument is strongly supported when we realize that 
cities are under continuous supervision of health officers, 
while homes in the country are considered healthy until 
proved otherwise by the appearance of disease. The 
volume on rural hygiene mentioned below-is therefore very 
timely, but more than that, should be in much demand. 
It is the outgrowth of a course in sanitary science estab¬ 
lished in Cornell University, of which the author has been 
the director. 
This book is presented as one of the Rural Science 
Series, edited by Dean L. H. Bailey of the New York State 
College of Agriculture. So wide is its scope, and so varied 
are the subjects it discusses, though they all relate in some 
way to hygiene, that there can be no question of its great 
importance. One would probably have to consult a large 
number of publications in order to find elsewhere the same 
sort of valuable information which is here brought to¬ 
gether in one volume. Moreover, the subject matter is 
expressed so interestingly that it is far from being an un¬ 
pleasant task to learn from this book, and the facts pre¬ 
sented are in most cases equally applicable to city resi¬ 
dents and to country dwellers. The first part of the book 
deals with drainage, ventilation, and water supply matters, 
proper attention to which is of vital importance to the 
health of a community or a family. Seven chapters in 
the last half of the book are devoted to personal hygiene, 
and besides giving causes and methods of prevention or 
treatment of a number of diseases, the author corrects 
many erroneous ideas in regard to these maladies. 
A course in sanitary science was established four years 
ago at Cornell University which bids fair to develop into 
a school. 
