Number 2 - 2004 - Acta Horticulturae

New Books, Websites
The books listed here are non-ISHSpublications.
For ISHS publications
covering these and other subjects,
visit the Acta Horticulturae website
www.actahort.org
BOOK REVIEWS
Alternative Agriculture: A History from the
Black Death to the Present Day. Joan Thirsk.
1997. Oxford University Press. 365p. ISBN 0-
19-820662-3
Joan Thirsk, an historian of agriculture, has put
together an thoughtful book on the history of
alternative agriculture in England. She defines
Western mainstream agriculture as the production
of cereals and meat and her point is
that when food is scarce agriculture sticks to
basic foodstuffs. But changed circumstances
and major disjunctions oblige farmers to divert
their energies from the primary pursuit of grain
and meat to investigate other activities. These
disrupting circumstances have come from
declining populations as in the first half of the
14th century as a result of the plague or as is
now the case from overproduction due to
increased technology. There have been a number
of solutions sought such as a search for
new meat sources (pigeon, rabbit and chicken,
for example) and particularly new crops (from
industrial crops such as rapeseed, woad, mead,
and saffron to a wide range of horticultural
crops). Viewed in this context, organic agriculture
appears to be a present solution to overproduction.
Her conclusions are interesting
and deserve quotation: What of the lessons
which farmers and policymakers may take to
heart from the past? Judging by the experience
of the three previous phases of alternative
agriculture, the strong assumption of our
age that omniscient governments will lead the
way out of economic problems will not, in
practice, serve. The solutions are more likely
to come from below, from the initiatives of
individuals, single or in groups, groping their
way, after many trials and errors, toward fresh
undertakings. They will follow their own
hunches, ideals, inspirations, and obsessions,
and along the way some will even be dismissed
as harmless lunatics. The state may
help indirectly, but it is unlikely to initiate, or
select for support the best strategies, and, out
of ignorance or lack of imagination, it may
positively hinder. This is an interesting book.
Greenhouse Horticulture in China: Situation
& Prospects. J.M. Costa and E. Heuvelink
(eds.), N. Botden (co-editor). 2004. Ponsen &
Looijen BV, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
140p. + appendix. ISBN 90-6754-744-1.
Greenhouse Horticulture in
China: Situation & Prospects
This small book is a report of study group from
the Horticultural Production Chains, Department
of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University
and Research Centre, that visited China in
2003 to study China’s greenhouse industry. (A
previous study tour by the Horticultural
Production Chains Group investigated the
greenhouse horticulture in Almeria, Spain.) Led
by Miguel Costa, project leader and organizer,
the trip included five other participants who
visited a number of universities or institutes.
The work begins with a brief introduction followed
by an overview chapter on China’s
greenhouse horticulture. The importance of
China’s greenhouse industry is clearly shown in
the first table; China has almost 55% of the
total world’s plastic greenhouse (including
large tunnels) and over 75% of the world’s
small plastic tunnels. The next five chapters
cover reports on the greenhouse industry in
municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai, and the
Provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, and Yunnan.
These chapters all include a “SWOT” analysis
discussing industry strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats. A final chapter
presents an overview of China’s horticultural
sector. There is an extensive references section.
Growth Habits in Stone-Fruit Trees. D. Bassi
(ed.). 2003. (Il Divulgatore, Bologna, Italy,
October 2003. 173p.
This monograph focuses important points
related to growth habits in stone fruit trees
(apricot, peach plum, and sweet cherries) and
represents a significant contribution to the field
of breeding for improved fruit tree growth
habit. A team of experts in the field (five working
groups from the Universities of Bologna,
Florence, Milan, and Pisa and from other
research institutions) have produced an information
platform based on an orderly and coordinated
set of measured parameters. Each
growth habit within a species is defined and
discussed, terms are defined (glossary), objective
tree growth data are presented, and reference
cultivars are provided. Illustrations (hand
drawing) represent a useful visual guide to
each growth type. This book thus seeks to
describe the main tree habits found in five
important stone-fruit species and to identify
the morphological keys unlocking their characterization
and, in the process, provide some
suggestions for their practical exploitation. The
text is both in English and Italian.
Growth Habits in Stone-Fruit Trees
The book may be requested at
mirella.dallavalle@unimi.it, or at icami.biblio@unimi.it
(€ 50,00).
Above books were reviewed by Jules Janick
History of Horticulture - Horticulture 306
History 302 Class Notes. Jules Janick. 2003.
Tippecanoe Press, West Lafayette, Indiana.
690p.
This publication is not a typical book - it does
not even have an ISBN. Rather it is a multimedia
publication of the class notes of
the “History of Horticulture” course offered
by Prof. Jules Janick at Purdue University.
The entire publication is available at
CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE •VOL 44 • NUMBER 2 • 2004 • 39