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318 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
the book (pp. 132, 133) we fiud the following renderings of one
word : Pchujica, plclaica, and PeUnjicia. As a specimen of Latin
translation we may give the rendering of this sentence from the
' Hortus Cliffortianus ' :—
" Nomen obtinuit ab illustriss. Hans
Sloane, Preside Societatis Kegi® Anglicauae, cui fere soli debetur
notitia plantarum jamaicensium et plurium americanarum." Mr.
Alberg introduces his rendering thus :— " But when Linn^us in
Rort. Cliff, records the species Sloane, he remarks, ' This name
holds its place amongst the illustrious. To Hans Sloane, President
of the Royal British Society, is owing nearly all our knowledge of
Japanese also of many American plants.' " We will add a single
sentence from the account of the journey to Lapland in Prof.
Alberg's "own quaint, peculiar style," which we leave as a puzzle
with our readers. Linnfeus says :— " I have seen solemn inoccidum
in the coldest winter." W. Cakrutheks.
Timbers, and hoiv to know them. By Dr. Eobert Haktig. Translated
from the third German edition, by William Somerville,
D.CE., B.Sc, F.R.S.E. Edinburgh : David Douglas. 1890.
8vo. 22 Cuts.
As stated in the first line of the preface of this little book,
" The want has often been felt in this country of a work, in handy
form and at a low price, which would enable one with ease and
certainty to identify timbers, and at the same time give a concise
account of their composition, qualities, and structure." With this
we heartily agree, and welcome Dr. Hartig's efforts as a small
contribution to this end. Whether it will go far in helping seekers of
knowledge in this direction is doubtful, as each wood referred to is
dismissed with remarkable brevity, only a few lines, indeed, being
given in most cases ; more details, both as to microscopical structure
and to the general appearance of the woods as to colour, shade, and
markings, both in longitudinal and cross sections, are needed to
make such a book really useful, and, if carefully carried out, would
be invaluable to a forester. Such descriptions of the woods, indeed,
might well be added to those of the plants in any Forest Flora.
Thus, for instance, in Gamble's ' Manual of Indian Timbers,' and
Brandis's ' Forest Flora of North-west and Central India,' we have
the material for a fairly complete book on Indian timber trees.
American woods have been treated in a similar way by Prof. Sargent,
but the scattered material of such books requires bringing together
and enlarging to make it more generally useful. The study of woods,
their structufe and capabilities, are occupying much more attention
now than they hitherto have done, owing to the extension of Forest
Schools, and the subject being taken up as a special study; therefore,
a really good book, on the lines of the one under consideration,
would be most valuable.
The title of Dr. Hartig's little volume is somewhat pretentious,
if not misleading, for a large portion of the plants mentioned are
not timber trees at all, as, for instance, the vine, barberry, buckthorn,
&c. ; and it requires a great stretch of the imagination to