THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
54 
Our Booh Cable. 
BOOK REVIEW. 
“ W eeds and how to Eradicate Them.” By Thomas Shaw. Pp.208. 
Illustrated. Published by J. E. Bryant & Company. 
As a rule nurserymen do not recognize weeds as a serious prob¬ 
lem because they are intensive cultivators and when land is managed 
in this way, the weed difficulty is not a weighty matter. This little 
book contains six chapters according to the table of contents, but 
seven according to the book itself. Some of the subjects treated are: 
the prevalence of weeds, possibility of destroying weeds, methods of 
distributing weeds and descriptive notes on particularly troublesome 
forms. The present edition is somewhat enlarged from the original. 
“Little Gardens.” By Charles M. Skinner. Cloth, pp. 250, $1.25. 
Publishers, D. Appleton & Company. 
The work of the many civic improvement societies in the United 
States has done much to create and maintain an interest in the con¬ 
dition of its lawns and back yards. When you come to think of it, 
why should not the term “lawn” refer to the plot in the rear of the 
house as well as in the front of it? The truth is, it does not. One is 
lawn; the other is back yard. Mr. Skinner discusses the subject in¬ 
terestingly on the whole though occasionally in rather a conventional 
manner. 
He says: “The volume is designed for the family whose lands are 
a house lot. It is not a manual. It is not a grammar upon the sub¬ 
ject of small gardens; it is a series of hints and suggestions which may 
be unendingly diversified.” 
The author very properly objects to topiary work, to utlra formality, 
grotesque figures and to bizarre effects. The book is sparingly illus¬ 
trated with small half tones and more copiously with line drawings 
which are, however, not of first rate quality. The book has a mission 
and a field. It will undoubtedly be useful. 
“New England Ferns and Their Common Allies.” By Helen East¬ 
man. Cloth, pp. 161, including drawings and index. (Price not in¬ 
dicated.) Houghton, Mifflin & Company. 
This book constitutes a well executed effort to popularize the fern. 
The allies mentioned in the title, includes adder’s-tongue family, club- 
moss family and horsetail family. The book opens with a tabular 
statement of the fruiting season of the forms mentioned. This is 
apparently accurate and probably will be useful. The preferred habi¬ 
tant of each plant is also given. The illustrations, according to the author,, 
are by a new method. They resemble half tones and are mostly good. 
On the whole we are inclined to think that this is a very useful and 
suggestive little book. 
“Color Key to North American Birds.” By Frank M. Chapman 
and C. A. Reed. Cloth, pp. 312, $2.50 net. Publishers, Doubleday, 
Page & Company. 
This is an apparently successful attempt to classify birds by a color 
scheme, after the birds have been grouped on the basis of “obvious 
relationships” “They are then classified by their most prominent 
color markings under such headings as Birds with Red in Their Plu¬ 
mage, or yellow or blue, as the case may be, or Black and White Birds 
Brownish Birds, etc., and on the outer margin of each page opposite 
the description of the birds, the characteristic features and a colored 
figure of each species is given.” These illustrations are very conveni¬ 
ently arranged. It would appear that a three color printing process 
has been very successfully employed. The outdoor loving public is 
always in sympathy with a book which brings us a little nearer to our 
bird friends and this will undoubtedly be popular. As an appendix 
to the volume, is a key or rather a systematic table of North American 
birds, in which they are grouped under their families. 
Vegetable Gardening. ByS. B. Green. Pp. 249. 5th Edition. Pub¬ 
lished by the Webb Publishing Company., St. Paul, Minn. Cloth, $1.00; 
paper, 50 cents. 
While this volume v r as primarily prepared as a text book in a school 
of agriculture, yet there is nothing about the arrangement or matter 
which would prevent it from being used by the farmer as a very satis¬ 
factory reference volume. The crops are treated from the amateur’s 
standpoint rather than that of the commercial grower and perhaps this 
is one ol the reasons that the book has been so popular as to run 
through four editions in a comparatively short time. When we note 
that it contains a monthly calendar of gardening operations it quite 
suggests the old herbal or garden calendar, although it would not be 
fair to say that it smacks at all of the flavor of this ancient type of 
book. This book is quite fully illustrated, although some of the half¬ 
tones and wood cuts have now become considerably weakened bv 
frequent use. We can confidently recommend this to the person who 
wishes a book which will help in planting and carrying out a home 
garden. 
HARDY TREES, SHRUBS AND CLIMBERS. 
Bulletin No. 47, published by Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, 
Canada, publishes a very important review of 15 years’ experiences in 
growing ornamental trees and shrubs in Manitoba and the Northwest 
Territories of Canada. This bulletin by Dr. Saunders gives, a most 
comprehensive view of the adaptability and hardiness of trees and 
shrubs to this cold and trying region. It should also be very valuable 
to nurserymen who do business in that region or others having equally 
inhospitable climates. 
The bulletin contains extensive lists of trees and shrubs that have 
been tested and failed as well as those that have proved hardy and 
successful. Among the varieties that have proved desirable are the 
following: Acer negundo, Box Elder; Acer tataricum, Tartarian Maple; 
Acer tataricum ginnala, Ginnalian Maple; Alnus glutinosa, Common 
Alder; Amelanchier alnifolia, Alder-leaved June berry; Amelanchier 
canadensis nana, Shad Bush; Artemisia abrotanum, Old Man; Artem, 
isia abrotanum tobolskianum, Russian Artemisia; Berberis amurensis- 
Amur Barberry; Berberis Sieboldi, Siebold’s Barberry; Berberis Thun- 
bergii, Thunberg’s Barberry; Berberis vulgaris. Common Barberry, 
Betula alba, European White Birch; Betula alba laciniata pendula ; 
Cut-leaved Birch. Betula papyrifera, Canoe Birch. 
Caragana arborescens, Siberian Pea tree; Caragana frutescens, Woody 
Caragana; Caragana grandijlora, Large-flowered Caragana; Celastru, 
scandens, Climbing Bittersweet; Clematis ligustidfolia, Virgin’s Bower; 
Clematis recta, Erect Clematis; Clematis virginiana, Virgin’s Bower; 
Clematis vitalba, Travellers’ Joy; Cornus alba sibirica, Siberian Dog¬ 
wood; Cornus stolonifera, Red Osier Dogwood; Corylus Americana, 
Common Hazel Nut; Corylus rostrata, Beaked Hazel Nut; Cotoneaster 
acutifolia, Sharp-leaved Cotoneaster; Crataegus chlorosarca, Hawthorn; 
Crataegus coccinea, Scarlet Hawthorn; Cytisus capitatus, Broom. 
Eleagnus angustifolia, Russian Olive; Eleagnus argentea, Wolf Wil¬ 
low; Fraxinus pennsylvanica lanceolata, Green Ash; Lonicera spinosa, 
Albert Regel’s Honeysuckle; Lonicera Macki, Mack’s Bush Honey¬ 
suckle; Lycium Chinense, Chiniese Matrimony Vine; Neillia opulifolia, 
Ninebarlc; Philadelphus (In variety); Populus balsamifera, Balsam 
Popular; Populus berelensis; Populus certinensis and many others; 
Prunus americana, Wild Yellow or Red Plum; Prunus nigra, Canada 
Plum; Prunus pennsylvanica, Pin Cherry; Prunus pumila, Sand 
Cherry; Pyrus baccata, Siberian or Berried Crab; Pyrus americana, 
American Mountain Ash. 
Quercus macrocarpa, Mossy-cup Oak (the only hardy oak); Rhamnus 
alnifolia, Alder-leaved Buckthorn; Rhamnus cathartica, Common Buck¬ 
thorn; Ribes alpinum, Mountain Currant; Ribes aureum, Missouri 
Currant; Rosa blanda, Prairie Rose; Rosa ferruginea, Purple-leaved 
Rose; Rosa rugosa, Japanese Rose; Salix alba, White Willow; Salix 
fragilis, Brittle Willow; Salix Voronesh, Voronesh Willow; Sambucus 
canadensis, American Elder; Sambucus nigra aurea nova, Golden Elder; 
Shepherdia argentea, Buffalo Berry; Shepherdia Canadensis, Canadian 
Shepherdia. 
Good Fniit 
Versus Bad 
is the subject at issue and no 
wide awake farmer will doubt 
which is more desirable. 
The Spramotor 
absolutely insures you So % of an 
increase in the crop from your 
orchards. The Spramotor pays for itself many 
times over which is better than costing you 
nothing. Don’t confuse it with Spray Pumps. 
Write for Booklet (A). Full particulars free. 
5PRAMOTOR CO. 
Buffalo, N.Y. London, Canada. 
AGFNTS WANTED. 
