16 DECEMBER 1922, Page 27

The vigorous Society of Somerset Folk in London has pro-

duced an uncommonly attractive annual, containing stories in dialect, verses and folk-lore, with illustrations, as well as an account of Somerset local government, agriculture and the like. - One of the most successful dialect writers, we notice, is Professor Read, who holds the chair of Organic Chemistry in far-away Sydney, but has not forgotten his native " Zum- merzet." The list of Somerset artists, including Thomas Hudson and the Plimers, is obviously incomplete, but makes a beginning in a much-needed enterprise. The pages of "Somerset Phrase and Fable" are amusing. "John Bennetts," we learn, is a local synonym for "big feet," and "Tommy call your uncle" for "weak tea."