Principles of Agricultural Botany

Abstract

THE publication of a new text-book of agricultural botany is something of an event, since only one has been available hitherto. This paucity is due to two main reasons. First, agricultural botany scarcely exists as a unitary subject in the United States and most other countries, its content being subdivided and variously allocated. Secondly, the need for a text-book has previously been met by Percival's “Agricultural Botany”, which has run into eight editions and been translated into various languages. This book, first published in 1900, was a remarkable pioneer work which appeared in its last edition only ten years ago. But, during the past three decades, the approach to the subject of agricultural botany has changed, the content of the subject has expanded and acquired new orientations, and the outlook of agricultural botanists has developed in relation to advances in 'pure' science and in agricultural science and practice. Percival's book, valuable as it is and in many ways still indispensable, has changed but little in its successive editions, and there is need of a treatise reflecting the modern state of agricultural botany that will serve teachers and students to-day as well as Percival's volume served those of earlier years. Nelson's “Principles of Agricultural Botany” must be viewed against this background.

Principles of Agricultural Botany

By Dr. Alexander Nelson. Pp. xvii + 556 + 128 plates. (London and Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1946.) 35s. net.