PLANTS AND FLOWERS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22343, 5 March 1938, Page 20

PLANTS AND FLOWERS

THIBETAN JOURNEY l Plant Hunter's Paradise. By F. Kingdon Ward. Jonathan Cape. 347 pp. (12s 6d net.) Captain Kingdon Ward's latest book should make a strong appeal to two classes of reader —the botanist and the zoologist. The gardener who takes an interest in the plants he grows and would like to know a little of their history, and the ethnologist also, will And a great deal of valuable material. The scene is laid in the regions of the far north of Burma bordering on Thibet, whither the author, accompanied by Lord Cranbrook, journeyed to search for new plants and to study the fauna of the district. Incidentally they were anxious to locate, if possible, the source of the Irawaddy river. Thirteen months in all were spent on the journey and in that time they gradually worked their way northwards until they penetrated into Thibet itself. Two maps, handily arranged, enable the whole length of the route to be followed easily. It was a journey full of incident. The author's description, in a quiet conversational style, of the pleasures of the discovery of new plants (one of which, a carmine-flowered cherry, Prunue puddum, excited hiß wildest ad' miration), of the difficulties of travel, of the meeting with strange and dying races, and of the unfriendliness of the Thibetans, makes, perhaps, the most interesting story written by this well-known traveller.

DECORATION Flowers in Home and (iarden. By Constance Snry. J. JVI. Dent and Sons Ltd. 179 pp. (12s 6d net.) Those who had the pleasure of reading "Flower Decoration" will welcome Mrs Spry's new book. Her first was confined almost completely to a description of the most suitable .decorative flowers and their use in vases. "Flowers in Home and Garden," as its title implies, is a fuller treatment of the subject. In the first part of the book the author i takes each month and treats it under three heads: first, the plants | available in the garden and under glass: second, their use in decora-, | tion; and third, the preparations; , necessary to ensure a supply of 1 flowers for the future. Illustrations of flower arrangements accompany each chapter, which thus forms a compact and comprehensive treatment of the subject. The second part is devoted to decorations for special occasions, and abounds in new and useful ideas. Mrs Spry is not influenced by any fixed notions of what is good or bad in flower arrangement: If one wants to achieve a facility with flower decorations there-should

Ibe endless experiment of arranging them without fear or prejudice and without preconceived ideas as to what is right or wrong. The checking of one's natural taste by the canons of convention or- by the fear of ridicule may cause one to produce dull and stereotyped results, , The illustrations are excellent. The frontispiece, in colour, representing an arrangement of coloured water lilies and crystal, is beautiful; and it- seems a pity that the author has not used colour more freely. The excellence of her work would by its aid be even; more readily and fully appreciated.

NOVELTIES FROM HYDE PARK Plants for the Connoisseur. By Thomas Ilay, M.V.0., M.V.H. Putnam. 180 pp. (10/6 net) Through Simpson and Williams Ltd. As Superintendent of Hyde Park, the author has been enabled to receive many new plants and seeds for purposes of trial. From time to time these have formed the subjects of press articles, which have now been collected —revision might have been more vigilant—into a single volume. It considers some 95 plants, nearly all herbaceous and suitable for borders, rock gardens, and the glasshouse. Some account is given of the discovery and introduction of each variety, with cultural directions and a discussion of its suitability for the garden. As the title suggests, the book will be of interest more to the collector of plants and the professional gardener than to the general reader. The majority of the plants are illustrated by reproductions from photographs taken under the author's supervision by his son. A CHARMING GIFT-BOOK j Some Flowers. By V. Sackville-Wcst. Cobden-Sanderson. 63 pp. (6s net.) This interesting little gift book has for its subject some 25 flowers, each of which possesses those qualities of shape, colour, marking, and texture which make it what the author describes as "a painter's flower." The choice includes annuals, herbaceous plants, irises, lilies, and small shrubs. The descriptions of each are accompanied by a wealth of cultural directijns, the fruit of the author's experience, and some account is given of the methods of planting that will emphasise those qualities of the flower that constitute its peculiar charm. Not the least merit of the book lies in the < wisely chosen illustrations in photogravure, each of which conveys the true character of the flower it depicts.