10 NOVEMBER 1950, page 38

Impenetrably Queer

Orchids: Their Description and Cultivation. By Charles H. Curtis. (Putnam. £4. 4s. od.) THE peculiar fascination of orchids is hard to define, harder still to explain. The Greek......

Irish Battles Long Ago

Elizabeth's Irish Wars. By Cyril Falls. (Methuen. 2ss.) THE English have never been much interested in Irish history. This is a matter for surprise, for, although England may be......

• Ancient Burial Mounds

LONG barrows, dolmens and chambered cairns are the most vener- able and not the least imposing features of the British landscape due to man's activity. They were erected by......