an excellent book on Grasses in a series issued by a well-
known popular publisher which has these features, and a
similar book on Sedges issued by a Scientific Society in
conjunction with a National Museum. Both these books are
invaluable and beginners will be surprised how speedily the
grasses and sedges can be identified with their aid.
Unfortunately there are not many publications of this
standard. A series of volumes of line drawings of the
British Flora is in process of being issued, but is not yet
complete. Each volume is fairly costly so that a
considerable sum will be needed to acquire a complete set
when available. The descriptions are limited as it is
intended to supplement floras having written plant
descriptions,, The current flora of these islands has no
illustrations, save of critical species or to show specific
points of difference. Four volumes of drawings to accompany
the flora have line illustrations which are on too small a
scale to be of great use for a beginner. A further flora
has mainly full page line drawings with very brief
descriptions below each illustration. A flora of France
published early this century is most useful, having clear,
if small, line pictures beside the description of each plant.
It includes most, if not all, British plants, and all French
plants. Although it is written in French this is not a
great disadvantage. It is probably out of print and second-:
hand copies are not easy to find, and are expensive.
In making these observations, care has been taken not
to specify any particular title or publisher, because it is
felt that each instructor and pupil will have his own
particular choice of book and should be guided by their own
requirements.
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