PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 66

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

The Lone Hand for March, within its clever and striking covers, embodies a oapital programme. A word, however, for the oover-sketoh first;, for this seems an excellent opportunity to express the sincere sense of gratitude on* always feefe-for these Lone Hand cover designs, beautiful in colour and excellent in drawing. An. article on "The Nude in Art" takes note in a dignified manner of the recent police protest in Wellington againet a certain picture published in the Lone Hand, and makes this the text for a very sensible -4irticle. In the matter of illustrations it might be suggested that Norman Lindsay would do well to find a new model : the same model, a somewhat substantial female, having too obviously served for "As it Was in the Beginning," "The Loves of Lancelot and Guinever," and the serial, "Tho Big Fire," now running. However, that by the w«.y. Among the sketches, Beatrix Tracey on "Domestic Service," illustrated by clever little thumbnail sketches, i» distinctly good ; so, in a very different field, is "A Big Operation" ; so. each in ite own way, is every item in the Lone Hand programme. Now that the magazine has settled down to its stride, it may be seen how good is the muscle and how strong the staying power that lies behind the pace. Among «the short stories none wilt" be more widely enjoyed than " The Higgenson Baby." Versee, epigrams, and many other smaller attractions fill up the intervals between the more notable contents, and the campaign against food adulteration goes steadily forward. Tho Triad for March deals largely with " The Rumford-Triad Controversy ana other personal questions in which the oditor'a oritioisma have involved him. Otherwise the programme h varied and smart as usual, consisting of many capital Selections and extracts from nitron t writers On the topics specially affortod by the Trjad, together with some original matter, alflQ good. The Red Funnel for March opens with an illustrated article on "The .Sacred City of Benares" ; another good article is that on "Robert Louis Stevenson *cd His Com-

panions at Barbjzon?* "The Rabbit Peet ] in Australia" will find many sympathising I •and understanding readers; while "Clippings from Books," "Our Choice of Books," and "The Bensons, Father and Son," will all find appreciative, readers. There is plenty of fiction, long and short, and the current number of the R<d Funnel shows no falling off from previous achievements. Education Department of New Zealand. We have received from this department a set of eight large photographs of New ZeaFand flora, duly marked "School property," and specimens of the plates which are to be distributed to the State schools of tho Dominion. Accompanying the plates is a leaflet with the necessary description of eaoh plant, it» # habits and habitat briefly and simply given. These printed notes may usefully be cut and pasted to the back of tne illustrations. The photographs themselves leave no ground for serious complaint, though the plates of Seneeio laoufolius and Forstera sedefolia, especially the former, are somewhat indistinct. We do, however, think it a mistake not to have adopted some method by which the relative sizes of the flowers and plants might be plainly indicated.. As it in, the little rock Veronica epacridea and the small Foretera ditto, to the eyes of the town child personally unacquainted with them, present quite as imposing an appearance as the splendid clump of Ranunculus insignia. Moreover, we should say" that the Olianthus would lhaye exhibited its quaint and obvious claim to the vernacular "kaka's beak" had a spray of -flowers been given instead of a large bush of ... the white-flowbbed VABIETT.