Abstract
DR. FREAM'S new book, the first edition of which was exhausted on the day of publication, is a distinct gain to agricultural literature. We naturally expect such a work from Dr. Fream's pen to have the botanical portions of the subject dealt with at considerable length, and in this we are not mistaken, half the book being taken up by the discussion of the various plants with which the farmer has to deal, either as crops or weeds. This division has to be made, to some extent, at the expense of other branches of the subject, which is perhaps not quite a desirable thing to do in a general text-book; though it might be argued that it is far better to do one thing well than to do several things indifferently, and Dr. Fream has certainly done one thing well in his treatment of “The Plant.” The style is good, and the descriptions very lucid, concise, and sound, the book containing a vast store of information in small compass. There is not, however, a single reference to any original paper, an omission especially to be regretted when the author is discussing the Rothamsted experiments; in fact, we think that the addition of a list of the papers published by Lawes and Gilbert would have considerably enhanced the value of the book.
Elements of Agriculture.
A Text-book prepared under the authority of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. By W. Fream. Pp. 450, 200 Figures. (London: John Murray, 1892.)
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T., W. An Agricultural Text-Book. Nature 45, 388–389 (1892). https://doi.org/10.1038/045388a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/045388a0
