forward to impress upon the art-student the manifold advantages which

he might derive from a closer acquaintance with nature. He is never weary of dwelling upon the fact that close at our doors lies an inexhaustible store-house of models, an endless variety of patterns, a wonderful scroll of harmonious yet ever- changing colouring, from which we may continually draw new suggestions for the beautifying of every work of man. His com- plaint is that we do not make use of these treasures, and the remark is certainly not without foundation. Although of late years we certainly have made considerable progress in the art of design, and that not merely in the higher walks of ornamentation, but in the patterns used for common fabrics, how much remains yet to be done ! What room there is for improvement! No doubt, from motives of economy we see the same fancy re- produced, with perhaps some slight alteration, until we are so wearied of it that we are driven to suppose that imagination must be a faculty singularly wanting to those whose business it is to provide designs for the countless articles of household use, as well as for the products of our looms. As Mr. Hulme justly says, manufacturers are too ready to appropriate recklessly the ideas of others, and designers to tread closely in the footsteps of those who have preceded them. He would, on the contrary, have the latter make themselves personally acquainted with rural scenes, gathering thereby much pleasure as well as profit. He would have them, whenever possible, study each plant in its natural habitat, learn its mode of growth, its congenial surroundings, its every variety of form and colour ; and then (for Mr. Hulme would not produce a mere copyist, even of Nature) adapt, with intelligent appreciation, the natural object to the purposes of art. By this means much that is conventional and valueless in our present ornamentation would be discarded, an infinite variety of new subjects would be introduced, and slavish ad- herence to a few set forms would be for ever banished. 'That study such as this would involve a considerable expenditure of time, such as it is not within the power of every designer to give, Mr. Hulme freely admits ; and it is as an assistance to those who, from press of work or other causes, are unable to enter upon a course of quiet study, that the present work has been especially prepared, its author, however, protesting em- phatically that his labour is to be regarded principally as means to an end, that end being an acquaintance with nature itself.

Mr. Hulme's book contains forty-three plates, whereof the first thirty-seven are representations of plants in their natural growth, with, in most instances, separate drawings of such leaves or portions of flowers as are especially suitable for ornamental use, and sometimes having in addition examples of the employ- ment of such floral sections in the bosses or friezes of our cathedrals or other edifices. The six last plates are entirely devoted to the application of plants to the purposes of design, and some of these adaptations are really beautiful, although the colouring is in many instances defective, being, especially in the case of flowers, wanting in depth and clearness. Mr. Hulme is, however, very anxious to draw attention to the lessons to be derived from the glorious colouring of even our own woods and fields, not to speak of the more gorgeous display to be seen in tropical climes. He says :—

" Plant-colour may often prove as suggestive to the designer as plant- form. We do not here refer so particularly to the tints of flowers, so beautiful in themselves, and so infinite in variety, since there we may naturally assume they have received the loving attention of the true follower of decorative art ; we are thinking now rather of the field for Plants, their Natural Growth and Ornamental Treatment By F. Edward Hulme, F.L.S., F.S.A., Sc. Londoa : Marcus Ward and Co. study open in the consideration of the tints of the foliage, and more especially when the autumnal influences have begun to make them- selves felt. The elm, before losing its leaves, shows us a mass of rich, yellow-brown ; in the maple, the leaves are one mass of tawny-yellow ; in the guelder rose, the whole tree becomes brilliant crimson ; while in the brambles, unlike the other examples, a whole host of lovely con- trasts and harmonies are found,—crhnson, deep yellow, pale green, clear brown, varying shades of purple and grey. Seaweeds, too, as materials for design, have never received a tithe of the attention they deserve :— .The deep's untrampled floor,

With green and purple seaweeds strewn,'

seems a veritable terra incognita to our designers, yet every beach is strewn with forms of surpassing beauty, in form and colour alike ex- cellent. About 380 species are found on the British coasts. Fungi, or toadstools, though repellent to many persons, are often very beautiful in colour, sometimes, as in the scarlet-fly Agaric (Agaricus mu,carius), of an intmse red; or, as in the Clavaria fucifirmis, a deep orange-yellow ; lilac in the Agaricus personatus ; brown in the Boletus edulis ; white as snow in Clava, ia rugosa ; lemon-yellow in C. amethystina ; or black, as in the Tuber cibarium."

Variegated and spotted leaves, as well as flowers which show dis- tinct bands of colour, such as, for instance, the Sweet William, are recommended as especial objects of study, as also are the differing growth and arrangement of leaves upon the stem ; fruit-forms also are highly useful and suggestive. Mr. Hulme does not, of course, forget the symbolic value of certain plants and flowers, but encourages, in connection with the cultivation of beauty for its own sake, the nobler aim of embodying in the out- ward semblance an inner meaning which may have the power to

arouse thought or quicken devotion ; this, however, can only be done to a limited extent.

The letterpress of Mr. Huline's book consists in careful de- scriptions of each of the plants he has portrayed. His first inten- tion was, as he informs us, to have avoided all technical terms ; but on further consideration he abandoned this idea as incon- venient and undesirable, since the absence of botanical names would render reference to other works on the subject extremely embarrassing ; and as he justly observes, the leading terms, once acquired, are easily retained, and it is better to master them once for all, as they are common to all writers. In describing each plant, Mr. Hulme takes care to mention any noteworthy circum- stance connected with it, such as its appearance in history, its use, medicinal or otherwise, the derivation of its name, &c. Many of the meanings in plant nomenclature are obvious enough, but others have been, through lapse of time or change of dialect,

entirely forgotten. For instance, many readers may be unaware that it is from the egg-like shape of its acorn that the oak is named ; it was called by the Anglo-Saxons ac, by the Swedes ek, and by the Danes eg:— " The oak," says Mr. Hulme, "like many other objects, derived its name from its product of greatest value, and though now we should certainly point to the timber as being the most commercially valuable, we must bear in mind that the oak, being a common, indigenous tree, received a name when wealth lay rather in the possession of numerous herds of swine, and when the fruits of the oak rather than the wood rendered the greater service."

The hazel-nut is so called from the Anglo-Saxon hasel, a cap, and knutu, a nut, in allusion to the fruit in its involucre ; the

columbine, again, derives its appellation from the fancied re- semblance of its ring of spurred petals to a group of little

pigeons ; while the name " celandine," or die/it/a/dam (from the Greek, chelidon, a swallow), is based upon the fable that if you

put out the eyes of young swallows (an experiment too cruel to be, we should hope, ever put to the test), the parent birds will restore sight to their offspring by means of this herb, which had also, in old times, considerable repute as a specific in liver com- plaints. What is certain is that it possesses poisonous qualities,

but these are not unfrequently capable of curative action. In speaking of the belladonna—the dwale of Chaucer and early

writers—which goes under a variety of names, all of which, excepting its last, convey an idea of its malignant properties, Mr. Hulme tells us that it gained its Italian and Spanish appella- tions from the circumstance of having been used as a cosmetic, "though we should have imagined," he innocently subjoins, "that any added beauty thus derived would have been dearly bought" ! Unless, however, the ladies of England are much maligned, it is not a thing unheard of that heavy eyes should

now be brightened by the use of this same Tollkraut (mad herb), although on such occasions we should opine that the madness pre-

ceded the application, whether it were destined to follow it or not. The subject of the names of plants, although an interesting one, must not be further pursued, but our readers will find many of Mr. Hulme's examples worthy of notice and suggestive of further study.

Many persons may be glad to know that two processes for nature-printing and gaining perfectly correct impressions of

plants are declared by Mr. Hulme to have stood the test of ex- perience. The first of these is effected upon paper prepared with nitrate of silver and distilled water, the plant being laid upon the paper, covered with a piece of glass heavily weighted at the corners, and exposed to the full sun. The impression can be fixed by being dipped in a strong solution of hyposulphate of soda. The second process is one of delicate manipulation with oil-colour ; a sheet of smooth paper being first dabbed evenly over by means of a piece of cotton-wool wrapped in fine muslin, the leaf placed upon it, and then itself dabbed in a similar manner. On removing it with care, placing it between two surfaces of clean white paper, and pressing it gently, the impression of both surfaces will be obtained, and when dry these impressions are to be washed over with green water-colour, when the veining, tex- ture, and even the minute hairs of the surface will appear with perfect fidelity,

In thus impressing upon the art-student the necessity of going for his inspirations to the fountain-head, Mr. Hulme is only incul- cating what was largely practised by our ancestors, mid by all those nations where art was truly held in reverence ; and his efforts to make the practice pleasant as well as profitable are so laudable and persevering, that they ought to be crowned with success, and, indeed, inaugurate a new era in our schools of design, giving at the same time a fresh impetus to all who are concerned with this branch of labour.